


you were raised to leave me bait i always, always take

by hipgrab (merrymegtargaryen)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Do not repost, F/M, Omega Verse, also i do not know how radios work and i beg you to just ignore any inaccuracies, but there is one hella violent scene, mentions of pregnancy and infertility, the author said, the rating is for the sex, what if a/b/o met mad max in alaska
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23368186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymegtargaryen/pseuds/hipgrab
Summary: Civilization has fallen. The world is divided into packs who compete for territory, oil, and that most precious commodity of all: fertile omegas. Rey is one such omega, and determined to remain as isolated and unnoticed as possible...but when she encounters the territory's only known child and the pack pursuing him, going unnoticed is no longer an option.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 309
Kudos: 545





	1. the moon is always full for us

**Author's Note:**

> Have you ever thought to yourself, "What if Mad Max was set in Alaska, but Reylo, and also it's omegaverse?"
> 
> Well THINK NO MORE, because I have written it. 
> 
> I don't really even know where to begin with this fic. I had a dream one night and when I talked to my friend about it, she instantly encouraged me to write it into a fic. So I did. 
> 
> Because this is a more feral omegaverse than what I usually write, it will be a little more...not barbaric, per se, but less civilized. There are mentions of kidnapping and coerced mating with the hope of reproduction, but I promise the actual sex in the fic is consensual, even when it's a little rough. Definitely reach out if you're concerned about the content. 
> 
> I have been to Alaska once, I used to know about cars but kind of forgot, and I know nothing about radios. I'm begging you to please ignore any inaccuracies because I promise...it's not important. This fic is just...about fuckin. 
> 
> Hugest of thanks to alittlerunaway for not only encouraging I write this but also being a sounding board and beta-reader. I love you so much <3 
> 
> Enjoy!

The little boy stands in the small Alaskan village, staring out at the woods. He’s too young to have a keen sense of smell, but he can hear them coming. His eyes peer into the woods, and seeing the first flash of headlights, he turns and bolts for the cabin.

His dad is inside, along with the old man they’d come to meet. Dad said it would be safer here, in a village of betas. They aren’t a pack, not like the others. They’re just people. Dad said it was like this in the times before. People lived wherever they wanted, and they chose their leaders based on merit. Not anymore. Now, there are only packs, and one or two villages made up of those who pose no threat and offer nothing useful to the packs. There are no alphas here, because the alphas prefer the pack life, and no omegas, because all the omegas get taken. 

_ Like Mom. _

The boy tries not to think about her as he pushes through the door. “Dad!” he exclaims. “They’re here!”

Dad and the old man get up, going to the front porch. Dad sniffs the air, his eyes narrowing as he looks out into the forest. “You have to hide,” he tells the old man.

“You have to leave. Go.”

Dad takes his son’s hand, and together, they run for the opposite side of the village. As the first motorcycles roar into the village, waking the townsfolk, they make for the woods. More motorcycles roar in from that side, too, so they skid to a quick stop before turning and running for the side. But this, too, is surrounded, and growling in frustration, Dad takes his son and dunks him in a pile of shoveled snow, leaving only enough room for him to see and breathe. The boy doesn’t complain; they’ve done this plenty of times, and he knows it’s because the snow makes it harder for the pack to scent him. 

“Wait here, and when they’re gone, get as far away from here as you can,” Dad whispers, knowing any of the hunters could pick up the words he’s saying. “I’ll come back for you, I promise.” 

The boy can’t even nod, but he blinks at his father to show he understands. Dad gives him a crooked smile and dashes off.

When the shooting and shouting has quieted, the lead alpha stands in the village square, facing the old man. He’s tall, easily one of the tallest alphas the boy has ever seen, and he radiates the energy of someone who’s used to being in charge.

The alpha cocks his head, examining the old man as he sneers, “Look how old you’ve become.”

“Something far worse has happened to you,” the old man says defiantly. 

The alpha takes a step closer. “You know what I’ve come for.”

“I know where you come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren.”

The alpha remains still, but the boy can see the irritation pulsing over him. 

“The boy and his father,” he continues, as if he hadn’t heard the old man. “We know they came here. And now you’re going to give them to us.”

“Us?” the old man repeats. “Or Snoke?”

“Snoke is our leader,” the alpha says quietly. 

“Now, perhaps. But you cannot deny the truth that is your family.”

“You’re so right.” And with that, the alpha shoots the old man in the head.

Dad leaps out from his hiding place at that moment, shooting his rifle. It doesn’t work; the alpha grabs the end of the rifle and uses it to butt Dad in the chest and knock him on the ground. Two betas restrain him, keeping him on his knees as the alpha bends to inspect him. The two alphas size each other up for a long moment before Dad breaks the silence.

“So who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?”

“Where is your son?”

“Gone,” Dad says defiantly. 

“We know he was with you when you came here, so he can’t be far.” The alpha stands up. “And the omega?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

The alpha turns to the betas. “Bring him with us.”

They march Dad to the handful of cars, throwing him in the backseat of one. Another alpha, a woman even taller than the man, comes forward. “The villagers?”

The male alpha spares them little more than a cursory look. “Kill them.”

The boy sucks in a breath, screwing his eyes shut as the first shots are fired. He pretends he’s somewhere far away, somewhere that is anywhere but here, with Mom and Dad, no hunters following them. 

By the time the last of the hunters have left, the village is eerily quiet. Freezing now, the boy uses stiff limbs to climb out of the hardened snow. Shaking the snow off of him and rubbing the feeling back into his arms and legs, he heads into the woods and away from the village, from Snoke, and from his father.


	2. the road is always clear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention this before, but as with all of my projects, this fic is completed; how often I update is a mystery even to me.

On the other side of the forest, an omega peers into the ruins and shrapnel of what was once an eighteen wheeler. It’s been fairly picked over already, but the omega’s keen eyes can spot some tubing and bolts that will get her a decent price at the trading post.

She puts everything carefully in her bag before crawling around to the gas task. This, she is not surprised to see, has been picked clean, the scavengers who got here before her knowing just how much gasoline is worth nowadays. 

When the world fell, the cities were the first to go. The tall skyscrapers and crowded tenements weren’t built for the end of electricity and running water. Resources became scarce, and fighting over them became common. People fled into the countryside to protect themselves and their families. As gangs formed, people who would kill you if you had something they wanted, others banded together against them. 

Packs.

At first, they were groups of families and friends, people who wanted protection against the terrifying new world. They built homes and communities, looked out for each other.

But as blockers and suppressants became scarce, more and more of these packs fell victim to their own biology. Where alphas and omegas could live in harmony before, now they were subject to the whims of their genetic makeup. Like in the ancient days, before blockers and suppressants were there to maintain an air of civility, now the slightest whiff of an omega in heat could send an alpha into rut, and any alpha that was attractive to an omega would have that omega producing enough slick to draw every surrounding alpha. 

The return to ancient practices didn’t end there. The alphas of a pack, giving in to their biological predisposition for power, would fight each other for dominance over the pack. It wasn’t enough to just be an alpha anymore; now, there were alphas, and Alpha Primes. 

It’s been this way for almost as long as Rey can remember. 

Almost.

Dimly, in the very back of her mind, she remembers a time before, when people lived in cities and towns and not packs. She remembers going to school, riding in a car, watching television, eating off the kids’ menu. 

But all of that had changed. There are no more schools, no more television or kids’ menus, and cars are scarce commodities. 

Well, that’s not true. There are still cars, but there’s hardly enough oil to go around. That’s why scavengers like Rey turn over junkyards until there’s nothing left and hand over their goods to the trading post, where the traders will either sell it to the highest bidder...or hand it over when a powerful alpha from a powerful pack comes along and demands it.

Satisfied that she’s found all there is to find, she hops on her sled and rides down the snowy slope to her bike. Tying her sled and her bag of findings to the ancient Schwinn, she pushes off and rides down the dirty road to Niima Outpost.

Already, the precious few hours of daylight are drawing to an end. She’ll have to hurry to hand over her findings, and take whatever food Unkar Plutt is “generous” enough to give over before it’s too dark to see. And then she’ll spend what promises to be another lonely, endless night alone in her cabin.

She wishes she had a dog to keep her company. A dog might protect her, too, if rogue alphas get too bold. Not that she hasn’t been able to defend herself as soon as she presented, but it would be nice to have some help. A deterrent. The rogue alphas are much less likely to come a-knocking if they hear a dog. 

But dogs aren’t exactly rampant around here, and it’s not like there are kennels from which to adopt. So Rey lives alone, and both hopes and dreads that changing.

.

The trading post has been just that since long before civilization fell. Established by frontiersmen back in the nineteenth century, the trading post was a place to buy and sell goods, send letters by post, and socialize with the locals. Except, when the trading post was built, it was the beginning of a new era; now, it’s a pitiful remnant of the past. 

Unkar, an alpha, spends far too long looking over the tubing, bolts, and latches that Rey has brought. She knows what he’s doing; it’s what he always does. He gives off a strong alpha scent in the hopes that even after living with him, even after fighting him off tooth and nail, even after seeing him twice a week ever since she moved out, she’ll become hopelessly attracted to him.

_ Pathetic. _

Unkar is part of the reason she’s never felt motivated to join a pack. No easy task nowadays, but Niima Outpost is so isolated from the rest of the world that she manages to get by without much issue. If the alpha who took her in when her parents left her behind tried to mate her when she was still a teenager, what will happen if she comes across a whole pack of alphas now?

“Not a good haul,” Unkar says at last, looking gleefully sympathetic. “But since you’re an old friend, I’ll throw in a little extra.”

A little extra, Rey knows from experience, is not extra at all; it just means he’s lowering the price of the items she brought him. But it’s not like she has any other choice. The next trading post is miles away, too far for her to walk or bike, and who knows what kind of alphas visit there?

Jaw stiff, she accepts his rations before heading back out to her bike.

It’s full dark by the time she reaches her cabin. Hungry and tired, she locks the bike and sled in her shed and then makes for the timber house, where she lights a fire and puts a pot of soup over the woodstove. She doesn’t know who the cabin once belonged to, but whoever it was, they seem to have no intention of reclaiming it. It’s been abandoned ever since Rey came to Niima. When she went through her first few heats, still under Unkar’s protection, she’d hidden out here. When he’d tried to claim her, she’d kicked him in the nuts and moved her meager belongings into the cabin, claiming it as hers. He, thankfully, hadn’t followed her out here.

She’s not so stupid as to think he doesn’t know about the cabin at all. He may spend twelve hours a day glued to his seat in the trading post, but he has cronies and gossips to report back to him--after all, he has access to oil, and he’s one of the only alphas besides who hasn’t run off and joined a pack. It’s in their nature to want to please him.

_ Not me, _ Rey thinks vehemently. She may be an omega, and the only omega in the Niima area, but she doesn’t want to please anyone, least of all Unkar Plutt. She’d rather die alone than submit to an alpha.

And yet.

Some part of her thinks it might be nice to belong to a pack of sorts. Not one of the bigger packs, but a smaller one, family both born and found. They could take care of each other, keep each other company, and when her heats came upon her, they could help her, keep an eye out for eager alphas who might scent her. 

But she can’t risk it. There’s too great a risk of her becoming like every other female omega she’s ever known--mated against her will. The packs pick them up when they pass through, either luring omegas with an alpha’s scent or outright taking them. One by one, the omegas disappear, swallowed up by packs that want to use them as breeders. 

There are hardly any children these days, and none in Niima. Despite the lack of hormonal birth control, getting pregnant is hard thanks to a cocktail of nuclear bombs, toxic waste, and the increasing effects of pollution. Rey is the youngest person in Niima, and probably one of the younger people in this part of Alaska at all.

_ And it’s only a matter of time before some alpha figures out I’m a young, unmated omega and tries to put a baby in me. _

Grimacing, she stands on her toes to put away the flour...and pauses when she hears a distinctive rattle.

_ The shed. _

Someone’s trying to get in. To steal her bike, maybe, or pilfer what meager supplies she has. 

Grabbing her rifle, she slips silently out of the house, closing the door behind her. Night has fallen, but the moon and stars glint against the snow, allowing her to see almost as clearly as day. She walks slowly and quietly, trying not to let the snow crunch too loudly under her boots.

She was expecting a wanderer at the shed, maybe even a bear or a wolf. She was not expecting the frightened little boy who turns to look at her, brown eyes wide. Black curls poke out from beneath an orange and white knit hat that was obviously homemade. A wool-lined mens’ jacket hangs over him, and underneath she can see what looks like more homemade knitwear. Mens’ socks are rolled up just above his boots, which have seen a solid amount of wear and tear and look to be a size too big.

She’s seen children in pictures before, but never one in real life. He’s small and scared, and pity stirs in her heart. 

“What are you doing?” she blurts, rifle still aimed.

“Don’t shoot!” He holds up his hands, and Rey lowers the rifle an inch.

“What are you doing?” she repeats, softer.

“I just wanted a place to sleep, that’s all,” he pleads. “Please don’t tell anyone I was here.”

She considers him, lowering the rifle fully. “Where are your parents?”

His eyes grow sad. “We got separated. I’m waiting for them.”

She swallows. “I know all about waiting,” she offers. “You could wait here, if you like. I don’t have much, but I have a fire, and some blankets. It’d be warmer than the shed.”

The boy looks between her cabin, the windows lit by the fire inside, to the dark, dingy shed. 

“It’s up to you,” she says, shrugging. “I just put soup on--”

“You have  _ soup _ ?” he exclaims loudly. “Hot soup?!”

She bites back a smile. “Hot soup,” she confirms. “And batter for pancakes in the morning.”

The boy moves eagerly towards her. “Yes please--I’d like to wait with you. Ma’am.”

“I’m not a ma’am,” she laughs, leading him to the cabin. “I’m just Rey.”

He holds out his hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Rey. I’m Baby.”


	3. that's not what you want to hear

In the basement of what was once a warehouse, an alpha named Poe Dameron wakes up.

Kylo Ren watches him, waiting. He can smell the other man’s fear, and that makes him happy. They’d thrown him around and beaten him up until he’d passed out. He put up a good fight, and for that, Kylo has to give him his grudging respect.

“Comfortable?” he asks once he’s sure Dameron is conscious enough to understand.

The alpha looks up at him with bleary eyes. Anger makes them narrow. “Not really.”

Kylo comes closer. “I’m impressed. No one has been able to get out of you what you did with the boy...or his mother.”

“You might wanna rethink your technique,” Dameron says with far too much arrogance.

Kylo rolls up his sleeves. “Where are they?”

Dameron snorts. “I won’t be intimidated by you.”

Kylo allows himself a small smile. “We’ll see.”

.

When he leaves the basement a long time later, knuckles bloodied, he finds Hux waiting for him. 

“He left the boy in Tuanul,” Kylo says briskly. “He and the omega agreed not to tell each other where they were going to protect each other.”

“Well, if the boy was left in Tuanul, we’ll soon have him,” Hux drawls.

“I leave that to you.” Kylo strides away to his living quarters. 

The port town was a good place to set up shop once the world fell. Home to some of the biggest and most efficient oil rigs in the world, Snoke and the First Order took control of the operations here once it became clear that it was every man for himself, and the man with oil would fare much better than the man without.

“Civilization fell, as it was always going to,” Snoke had said dismissively. “But it will rise again. Humans have tasted too much to go back to the dark ages--and when they get hungry, we’ll be there, offering a six course meal...to the highest bidders, of course.”

Chaos still reigns in much of the world, but it won’t for long. Snoke is right; humans lived in a world of cars and smartphones, of fast food restaurants and five star hotels. They may have adjusted, but only out of necessity. The First Order has already generated its own electricity here; it comes and goes, but the interruptions never last for long. Kylo would be surprised if other people in the world aren’t working on similar solutions. Soon they’ll have electricity in most major parts of the world, and then cell towers and internet, and then civilization will be back.

_ And better than it was before, _ Kylo thinks. 

Society’s biggest problem was trying to prevent alphas and omegas from being who they were meant to be. He hadn’t understood that until he found Snoke. Blockers and suppressants were nothing more than a conspiracy to turn them into betas, to make them palatable to the betas who could sate neither alpha nor omega when their bodies demanded it. Blockers and suppressants made them calmer, dulled their scents and their senses, until they were just like betas. Where a pack order had been ingrained in every person’s brain since time immemorial, new orders were established; leaders were elected, not decided by strength, and anyone could mate anyone at any time. Where alphas and omegas had once mated for life, science had made it possible for them to fuck anyone at any time without any repercussions, and for mating bonds to fall apart much more easily than they had in times past.

Anger fills him as he thinks of that last one, a memory he’d thought long drowned suddenly bubbling to the surface. He hears the shouts, the anger in their voices, the stomp of boots and then the slamming of a car door. And then, once the antique engine has roared away, a plate shattering against a wall.

He grits his teeth, growling as he forces the memory back under the water in his mind. It takes a long moment, but he is nothing if not an alpha, and beating things into submission is something of a specialty of his.

At last, the memory is gone, and with it the reminder of a person long dead.

A weak and foolish boy named Ben Solo.

.

He wakes hours later when someone knocks on the door. Like many of the others, he lives in a shipping container, and the knock on the door makes the entire unit thunder. 

Growling, he stalks to the door, wrenching it open with teeth bared.

It’s Mitaka, an omega that remains in perpetual fear of him. “Alpha Ren,” the omega squeaks. “Alpha Hux sent me to you...a prisoner escaped.”

“A prisoner?” Kylo demands.

“He didn’t say anything else, alpha.”

Kylo growls again and slams the door shut behind him, heading for the garage. The hunters are scurrying about anxiously, grabbing survival packs and helmets before hopping on their bikes and into their cars. Kylo will not be joining them, not so soon after the last hunt. 

Hux stands off to the side, his face looking even more unpleasant than usual as he watches the proceedings.

“Is it Dameron?” Kylo demands, and the unpleasant look on Hux’s face increases. 

“Yes, and he had help from one of our own.”

Kylo somehow instinctively knows. “The omega. Finn.”

He’d seen the hesitation in the omega when they fired on Tuanul. He’d seen the shaking of his hands, his omega desire to follow an alpha’s commands clashing with his omega desire to nurture and care for others. It had been Hux’s idea to cultivate omega soldiers, knowing their biddable nature, but Kylo had warned him that omegas are weak. They may follow orders, yes, but they do not have an alpha’s strength, only soft hearts and minds. 

In the end, Snoke had listened to Hux, and the omega soldiers had been trained. Perhaps now, Snoke will see reason.

Phasma is rushing past them, but Hux’s call stops her.

“You knew the omega? Finn?”

“He was one of mine,” she agrees, shouldering her rifle.

“Any prior signs of nonconformity?”

“This was his first offense,” she says, eyes flickering to Kylo. At Hux’s nod, she continues the journey to her car.

“There. You see?” Hux says, turning back to Kylo. “His first offense. And he’s been with the pack since he was a child.”

“Exactly. If he’s been one of ours this long, what does this say about the other omega soldiers?” Kylo points out. “Look at Zorii Bliss.”

“Zorii Bliss was not one of  _ our _ omegas. If she had been, the boy would be ours by now, and we might have mated her to another alpha. Yet  _ you _ are the one who failed to bring back her, or the boy.”

Kylo struggles not to bare his teeth. “I brought back the father.”

“Who then escaped.”

“Because  _ your _ soldier helped him.”

Hux’s growl is met with one of Kylo’s, both alphas tense as they attempt to stare down the other. 

It’s Hux, as usual, who takes a step back. “Snoke was explicit. We  _ must _ find the boy. One or both of his parents will come back for him.”

“I agree,” Kylo says, surprising Hux. “But how capable are your omega soldiers at this task?”

Hux growls again. “I won’t have you questioning my methods.”

“They’re obviously skilled at turning on their own pack.”

“My omegas are exceptionally trained, many of them since birth,” Hux argues. 

“Then they should have no problem retrieving the boy.”

“No,” Hux says, wary of a trap. “They shouldn’t.”

Kylo leans forward, crowding the other man’s space. “For your sake...I hope you’re right.” He turns and leaves, sniffing the air as he does. There’s a delicious spike of fear from Hux, and that makes him grin.

_ Good. _


	4. one is born so one can die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am ironically watching Life Below Zero while I upload this chapter, because I guess I don't do anything by halves.
> 
> Hope you guys are enjoying so far!

“What kind of a name is ‘Baby’, anyway?” Rey asks as she washes dishes.

The little boy, handing her a plate, rolls his eyes. “It’s not a name. Not  _ really _ . Mom and Dad didn’t know what to call me when I was born. They just kept calling me Baby, and then it went on for so long that they couldn’t name me anything else. But they said I’m probably the only kid around here, so it doesn’t really matter what I’m called.”

“That’s probably true,” Rey agrees.

She’s been careful not to let anyone see Baby. Luckily, the cabin is pretty isolated, and no one visits her anyway. She leaves him at home when she’s scavenging; he usually amuses himself in the cabin or the immediate property, tinkering with the items in her shed or reading the books she’s collected. Most of them are kid-friendly...she thinks.

Even so, it does worry her. What will she do with him when she goes into heat? How will they find his parents? What if someone finds out about him? It’s that last one that worries her most; as isolated as it is out here, it would be impossible for her to keep him here for an extended period of time. If she really wanted to protect him, she’d take him far away. 

But even that has no guarantee of safety. Taking him away means they’d probably run into others, others who know the value of an untaken omega and a child born in the last few years. And then how would they find his parents?

_ Will _ they ever find them? From what she can tell, the packs want both his parents alive, and why not? They’ve proven to be fertile, something so few people are these days. They’d want to add children to their packs, and see if the alpha and omega in question could mate with others. It’s their biological inclination to produce offspring. 

“Where did you live before?” she asks now as they finish cleaning up from breakfast. 

He shrugs. “A few places. There was this old lodge where we stayed for a while, but it was too exposed. Then it was a barn that belonged to a nice beta couple, but after a while we had to leave because people were asking them questions. The First Order almost caught us a few times, and after that, Mom and Dad decided we should split up. It worked for a while, but.” He sighs.

Rey wraps an arm around his shoulders, letting him lean into her. “It’ll be okay,” she says softly. “They won’t hurt your dad, and it sounds like they haven’t found your mum yet. He’ll find you. He’s an alpha, isn’t he? Alphas are tough. And he sounds smart. I bet he’ll escape real soon, and then he’ll come find you.”

“Yeah?” Baby asks hopefully.

“Yeah,” she says in a firmer tone. “Right, now I’ve gotta go; you gonna be okay?”

“Of course.” He lingers by the counter, watching her pull on her gear. “I wish I could come with you. I know why I can’t,” he says when she opens her mouth. “I’m just saying. I wish I could.”

She relaxes. “I wish you could too. Maybe someday.” With a smile, she walks out the door, watching from outside to make sure he locks it behind her. She smiles again and waves, and tries not to let it break her heart when he sadly waves back.

_ We’re both stuck here, kid. Let’s try to make the best of it. _

.

She spends what little daylight there is scavenging, finding an extension cord that doesn’t look like it’s sustained any damage and an old space heater. Unkar will be able to use those--or sell them, at the very least. She packs them in her bag and, seeing the light shift, heads for the trading post.

Unkar is interested in the goods, but not nearly as interested as he is in Rey herself. She tenses when he leans in, sure he’s going to offer to see her through another heat, so she’s surprised by his whisper.

“I heard there’s a child at your cabin.”

Rey stares at him. “From who?”

“Can’t remember,” he says idly, but she knows damn well he remembers. He just doesn’t want to compromise his source. 

Rey swallows. “Just passing through.”

“Just passing through,” Unkar repeats. “Right.”

“What’s it to you?” she can’t help asking.

He shrugs. “Just interesting, is all. Children are so rare these days. Ever since the bomb. Makes you wonder about this one.”

She forces herself to look nonchalant. “He’s just a kid. Nothing special.” She takes her food and leaves, heart pounding. She has to get back to Baby. They have to leave. Now. 

.

She doesn’t see any evident signs of danger when she gets back to the cabin...at least, not until she’s halfway to the door. Baby’s face appears at the window, his mouth wide as he shouts, but Rey doesn’t see her assailant until he’s got his arms wrapped around her from behind. He smells like a beta, but underneath it, she can catch a lingering scent she’d recognize anywhere.

_ Unkar. _

Rey ducks and leans forward, tumbling her assailant forward and onto the ground. Another one bowls into her from the side, but she’s still low enough to the ground that she headbutts him in the stomach and sends him sprawling.

The door opens, and before she can scream at Baby to get back inside, he fires her rifle into the air with the fluid motions of one who’s done it before. The two betas stumble, stunned, and then he aims the rifle at the one on the ground and shoots him in the shoulder.

“Fuck!”

The betas hobble away, one clutching his shoulder, the other clutching his stomach. Baby fires a warning shot at their feet and they scamper off, afraid.

“How did you learn to do that?” she asks, amazed.

“My parents,” he says simply, and then his eyes widen. “Dad.”

“Your dad taught you?”

“No, I mean, I smell my dad.” Baby runs out of the house, shouting. 

“Quiet, you don’t know who’s out there,” Rey protests, but a man stumbles out of the woods. 

She furrows her brow. She can’t see very well in the dark, but she can smell, and while there’s a whiff of an alpha, that’s  _ definitely _ an omega in front of her. 

Baby draws back a step. “That’s not my dad...but that’s his jacket.”

Rey takes the rifle, aiming it as the omega draws nearer. “Who are you?”

The omega throws his hands up in a surrendering motion. “Look, I’ve had a pretty messed up day, alright? So I’d appreciate it if you stopped--”

She fires a warning shot at his feet.

“Fuck!” he shouts, leaping back as if scalded. 

“Where’d you get it?” she demands. “He says the jacket belongs to his dad.”

The omega’s face, taut with fear, relaxes as he looks at the young boy. “It belonged to Poe Dameron. That was his name, right?”

Baby glances up at Rey, hesitating before he nods. 

“He was captured by the First Order. I helped him escape, but our car crashed.” He hesitates. “Your dad...didn’t make it.”

Baby’s head hangs low. Rey lowers the rifle, wrapping one arm around the boy as he starts to cry. 

“I tried to help him,” the omega continues softly. “I’m sorry.”

Rey feels her heart break for the small boy. His father died trying to get back to him, and he has no idea where his mother is.

_ Does this make me his mother now? _

Before she can contemplate her new situation too deeply, the sound of revving engines makes all three of them look up, startled. 

“The First Order,” the omega whispers. 

“We have to go.” Rey takes Baby’s hand and runs into the woods, in the opposite direction of the engines. She can hear the omega tripping after them, but she hardly spares him a thought as she and Baby run over the forest floor. She can hear shouts from behind them, and a quick glance over her shoulder confirms that a whole pack of hunters are at her cabin.

_ Shit. _

Someone squealed. Unkar, most likely, or whoever had tipped him off. 

_ We’re alright, we’re alright, we just can’t stop running, _ she tells herself. She’s always been quick, in close quarters and over long distances; she can do this, and if Baby can’t keep up with her, she can carry him. They’ll be okay. 

They have to be.

They run until there are stitches in their chests, their breath coming hard and wheezing, but Rey pushes on because she knows where they are and what they’ll find.

“Where...are we...going?” the omega gasps, struggling to keep up with her.

“There’s a car!” she shouts. She can hear hunters coming after them, so she doesn’t let up until they’ve spilled out into the open. 

Sure enough, a heap of junk she knows is still functional sits in its usual place. She’d taken this car for a joyride more than once, when Unkar was at the trading post and unable to keep an eye on it. He’d been furious, but it had been worth it.

She dashes up to the front porch, pulling the spare keys from under the rock before dashing back to the car. She unlocks the driver’s door before hitting the button to unlock the other car doors; the omega climbs in the passenger’s side while Baby climbs into the back. As she revs up the car, she sees Unkar tear out of his house, shouting; she flips him off before shifting gears and tearing down the road.

Motorcycles skid after them, spilling out onto the road from the woods. Rey hands the rifle to Baby.

“There’s a handgun in the glove compartment,” she tells the omega, and he reaches in, pulling out a locked and loaded pistol. 

Both the omega and Baby lean out the windows, firing at their pursuers. Rey goes ninety miles an hour, zigging and zagging, until they’ve outrun the motorcycles for a moment; she jerks the car down a deerpath off to the side and slams on brakes, putting the car in park and killing the engine.

Half a beat later, the motorcycles come roaring past, heading for the bridge up ahead. They sit in the car for a long moment, breathing hard.

“Well,” the omega says at last. “That was some driving.”

“Thanks.” Rey hesitates before holding out her hand. “I’m Rey.”

“I’m Finn.” He shakes her hand. 

“That’s Baby,” she adds, pointing to the back seat. 

“Yeah,” Finn says with a smile. “I’ve heard about you.”

Baby gives him a small smile.

“Alright,” Rey says, turning on the engine. “Let’s hit the highway and see how far that takes us.” She puts the car in drive and rolls forward.

.

They drive late into the night. Finn and Baby fall asleep, but Rey’s mind is racing. She doesn’t know her way around here; she’s never so much as left Niima Outpost. Where can they go? Two omegas and a small child? They’ll be easy prey, and even if the First Order doesn’t get hold of them, someone else could. 

When Rey gets too tired to drive, she pulls off at what used to be a rest area, parking beneath the trees before she locks the doors and reclines her seat a little. In moments, she’s asleep.

.

She wakes up when knuckles rap on the glass of her window. She, Baby, and Finn scream, jolting as they realize that two men are staring into the car. 

“Hey!” one of them shouts through the glass.

“Leave us alone!” Rey screams, reaching for the rifle. She uses the crank to roll the window just enough to slip the point of her rifle outside.

The white-haired man raises his hands in self-defense. “Jesus, kid, I didn’t mean to scare ya!”

“Leave us alone!” Rey shouts again.

“Leave you a--this is  _ my car _ !”

That gives Rey some pause. “Your car?”

“Yeah,  _ mine _ . It’s a custom job.” He thumps the toe of his boot against the front tire. “You don’t get a suspension like this on just  _ any _ car.”

Rey frowns. She seems to remember Unkar saying something about the car being unusual...but any car fanatic would have probably known that. 

“Where’d you get this thing, anyway?”

She sees no reason in lying to him. “Niima Outpost.”

“That junkyard?” the man asks, offended. He looks over the car at his friend, who is easily one of the tallest and hairiest men Rey has ever seen. “Told you we should’ve gone further west. Who had it?” he asks, turning back to Rey. 

“My...guardian. I don’t know where he got it,” she says honestly.

“He  _ stole _ it,” the man humphs. “Well, you tell him that Han Solo just stole back the  _ Millennium Falcon _ for good!”

Rey, Baby, and Finn blink up at him. 

“Who’s Han Solo?”

He huffs, offended. “ _ I’m _ Han Solo, and this is my car! Chewie, get the Breakfast Club out of here, wouldja?”

“No, wait!” Rey shouts. “We have to get as far away from Niima Outpost as possible. We have to get as far away from the First Order as possible.”

At that, Han tenses. Like most betas, his emotions are less detectable than alphas and omegas, but Rey can smell something like fear and agitation coming from him. “The First Order, you say?” he asks stiffly.

“You know them?”

Han Solo rubs his chin. “Yeah. I know them.” He glances over at the car again at his friend named Chewie. “How about we make a deal; you give me the car back, and I’ll take you as far east as I’m going.”

“Done,” Rey says, speaking for the other two. 

“Rey,” Finn mutters, but she ignores him. 

“How will we all fit in the car, though?”

Han Solo huffs. “We’re not taking the car.” He points, and when Rey looks out the back of the car, she sees an eighteen wheeler looming behind them. 

Rey, Baby, and Finn stand off to the side and watch as Han drives the car up a ramp and into the trailer. Once parked and inside, he and Chewie lock the trailer and jerk their heads for their new companions to join them in the cab. 

Rey climbs up first, reaching down to lift Baby. There’s a bench seat behind the drivers, and the two omegas and Baby cram in awkwardly as Han and Chewie settle up in the driver’s and passenger’s seats. The entire truck thrums when they get inside, and with a bounce that makes Baby cackle in delight, they begin rumbling down the highway. 

“So,” Han Solo begins as he turns the steering wheel. “What are two omegas and a kid doing alone out here?”

Rey and Finn glance at each other. 

“He’s not yours,” Han continues conversationally. “So whose is he, and why do you two have him?”

“We...I was trying to help him find his parents,” Rey says truthfully.

Finn sighs. “And I was with his dad when he was trying to get back to him.”

He doesn’t have to explain why Baby’s dad isn’t here. Han and Chewie seem to understand.

“And the First Order’s looking for him, huh?”

“I’m right here,” Baby huffs. “You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.” 

Han cracks a grin. “You remind me of my kid, you know that?”

“You have a kid?” Rey asks, leaning forward.

Han’s smile fades. “Used to.” 

Baby’s dad, Han’s son. Rey’s parents. Everyone’s lost someone. 

“I’ll take you to Takodana,” Han says, clearing his throat. “I got an old friend there who can help you. She’s good people. Safe. She runs a kind of safe-haven for people who don’t wanna get swept up in the pack...stuff.”

Rey glances at Baby. If his mother knew about Takodana, then there’s a strong possibility she went that way. As a proven fertile omega on the run, she’d want to find a safe haven for people like her. 

_ Maybe it will be a safe haven for me, too, _ Rey thinks. No more fending off rogue alphas, no more enduring Unkar’s sniffing and pawing. Just Rey, and whatever friends she makes. 


	5. you must wait a real long time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, sorry, but don't worry--we're getting to the good stuff!

Kylo Ren is in the training yard when Mitaka comes to him again, his scent quivering with trepidation. Kylo does not turn to face him, does not so much as acknowledge him as he continues punching the swinging bag. 

“Alpha Ren,” Mitaka says from behind him, injecting some courage into his voice. “Our hunters were unable to capture the boy. He escaped in a stolen  _ Millennium Falcon _ .”

Kylo turns slightly, letting his displeasure emanate freely. He can smell Mitaka’s fear.

“The boy,” he says, slowly and dangerously, “stole a  _ car _ ?”

“Not exactly, Alpha. He had help.”

Kylo turns more fully, his face a stone mask as the omega quivers. 

“We have no confirmation...but we believe Finn may have helped in the esca--”

Kylo turns around, punching the bag with such brutality that the omega ducks and cringes, hiding as Kylo roars and takes out his anger on the bag. 

Stupid. Fucking.  _ Omega. _

Not only had he helped that scum Poe Dameron escape, but now he’s helping the boy escape too?

_ I knew omegas were not to be trusted, _ he thinks angrily.  _ Maybe now Snoke will listen. _

The red cloud of anger finally passes, but the punching bag did not come out intact; it lies on the ground, split open and useless.

“Anything else?” Kylo pants with deceptive calm.

The pause is so long he  _ knows _ there’s something else.

Softly, Mitaka begins, “The two were accompanied by an unmated omega girl--”

Kylo whirls around, gripping Mitaka by the throat and lifting him off his feet. 

_ “What. Girl?” _ he growls.

.

Snoke is fairly spitting by the time Kylo and Hux are summoned. 

“The boy will soon be too far for us to reach,” he seethes, “and when he presents, he will mate with someone  _ not _ of our pack!”

“Alpha Prime, I take full responsibility,” Hux begins, but Snoke rises--something he rarely does, and it’s enough to make even Hux flinch back.

“Alpha!” he roars. “Leave my sight  _ at once _ !”

Hux does, walking backwards until it is safe to turn his back on the alpha prime. Once gone, Snoke settles back in his seat, looking at Kylo.

“The boy was in a  _ Millennium Falcon, _ you say?” he growls softly.

“Yes,” Kylo says shortly, and the conversation goes exactly where he was hoping it wouldn’t.

“A rare make and model, especially this far north. Wasn’t your father the only person to have such a car in Alaska?”

Kylo growls. “Han Solo had such a car, yes.”

“Imagine if he were to have it again,” Snoke muses. “He would take the boy to your mother, undoubtedly.”

Kylo’s hands ball into fists. “If they’re still on speaking terms.”

“That’s right; they always fought, didn’t they?” Snoke croons, as if he doesn’t remember. “But still, for the boy  _ and _ two omegas to be in his care, especially an unmated omega girl…” He lets the implication linger. “There are few unmated omega females in this territory. We must find her before someone else does. She will be of far more use to us now than the boy. But take care, Kylo Ren. An alpha of your virility will be unable to help himself around an unmated omega. Even you, my greatest of hunters, have never faced such a test.”

“By the grace of your training, I will not be seduced.”

“We shall see.” Snoke leans forward, his voice dropping to a whisper.  _ “We shall see.” _


	6. that's more than you can bear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating early because last chapter was so short. I'm excited for you to read this chapter because it is the most Mad Max of the chapters, and also because something big happens at the end!
> 
> Thanks as always for the lovely comments; I love seeing your speculations and your thoughts! Hope you like this chapter.

As the truck drones down the highway, Rey finds herself lulled to sleep by the steady hum. She drowses on the bench seat, her head falling back against the cushion. Baby tucks himself into her side, and even over the rumble of the truck, she can feel him purring. 

They wake when the truck downshifts, a slight lurch jolting them from their sleep.

“Oh, great,” Han is muttering. “It’s the Guavian Death Gang.”

Rey sits up, looking out the windshield. There’s a red painted rig coming at them from an exit ramp, spikes attached to its trailer so as to prevent stowaways and hangers-on. Three strange symbols have been painted over the hood, the gang’s sigil to warn all they come across. 

“Chewie, get them in the trailer,” Han orders. “Stay in there until I say so, and don’t even  _ think _ about taking the  _ Falcon. _ ”

“What are you gonna do?” Rey asks even as she shifts to the side, watching Chewie flip up the bench seat to reveal a chute into the trailer. 

“Same thing I always do--talk my way out if it.”

“You don’t always talk your way out of it,” Chewie scoffs, helping Rey into the chute.

“Yes I do! Every time!”

Rey slides through the chute into the trailer, her feet wobbling. It’s black as pitch in here, the only light coming from the chute. She catches Baby as he slides down next, pulling him to his feet, and then Finn comes next. Chewie puts the bench back over the hole and the trailer is filled with darkness.

The three refugees stand in silence as the truck downshifts and finally rolls to a halt. Clutching Baby’s hand, Rey listens as the cab doors slam shut. In a moment, she can hear voices. They’re muffled through the trailer walls, but she can make out the general tone: Han Solo is a dead man.

“Do you know anything about the Guavian Death Gang?” Rey whispers to Finn. 

“Only a little,” Finn whispers back. “But ‘death’ is in their name so this doesn’t look good.”

“I wonder if there’s a way out of this,” Rey muses. 

“Like what?”

She considers the resources they have around them. The truck. The  _ Falcon, _ which Han specifically told them not to take.

_ But what if we take the whole truck? _

“Rey,” Finn hisses as she begins clambering up the chute. “What are you doing?”

“Taking the truck,” she whispers back. “They clearly want whatever Han has in here.”

“Clearly?”

“Well, probably,” she amends. “He definitely wasn’t happy to see them.” She crawls out into the cab, pushing up the bench seat. She pulls Baby up behind her and then crawls into the driver’s seat, peering out the window. She can see Han and Chewie surrounded by a group of men, all of whom have rifles...and all of them are aimed at Han.

Rey’s mind works quickly. If they can get the Guavian Death Gang to abandon Han and Chewie and follow the truck, Rey can distract them from Han and Chewie, put down the ramp, and unload the  _ Falcon. _ She doesn’t know how exactly to do it...but she’ll figure something out. 

Probably.

She glances at Baby and is struck with an idea. 

“Baby, look out the window.”

“Why?” he asks doubtfully.

“I want the Guavian Death Gang to see you.”

“What!” Finn hisses as he climbs up into the cab. “They’ll be on us in second!”

“Exactly. If we drive away and they know we have a child with us, they’ll follow us--and leave Han and Chewie behind.”

“And then they’d follow us, and we’d have to get rid of them,” Finn points out.

“I believe in us,” she says carelessly, climbing into the driver’s seat and scanning the dashboard. It’s a manual, she realizes; a little more complicated and intimidating than a regular manual, to be sure, but a manual nonetheless. 

“Rey,” Finn warns, but she’s already holding down the clutch.

“Baby, come here,” she says, turning the keys in the ignition. The truck rumbles to life, and Baby clambers into her lap as she puts the truck in gear. She’s too busy trying to drive the massive rig to look, but Baby reports that the Death Gang is looking at them and running for their own truck.

“Good,” she mutters, accelerating and shifting to a higher gear.

“What are you doing?!” Finn shouts.

“Take Baby and go to the trailer,” she commands. “Find the ramp Han and Chewie used to get the  _ Falcon _ into the trailer. 

“But--”

“Do it now!” she barks, speeding up.

Finn grumbles, but he and Baby slide back into the trailer. Rey glances at the side mirrors, watching the Death Gang in hot pursuit. They’re catching up to her, so she has to move quickly.

The Death Gang lays on the horn, signaling for her to pull over, but Rey keeps gunning it. Baby pokes his head through the chute. “We found the ramp.”

“Good. Do you know how to start a car?”

“I can figure it out.”

She smiles. “That’s what I like to hear. There are three pedals; accelerator, brake, clutch. Hold down the clutch and the brake at the same time, and turn the key in the ignition. Make sure the stick is in neutral.”

“Okay,” Baby says. 

“And tell Finn to unbolt the doors and have the ramp ready.”

“Okay,” Baby says again, and he disappears through the chute.

Rey gives him a couple of minutes, watching the side mirrors. The Death Gang is catching up with her, a red mass skirting too close for comfort. When she doesn’t stop, they roar ahead. Rey knows what they mean to do; cut her off.

She puts the truck on cruise control and scampers down the chute. The doors are clanging, already unbolted, and Baby sits behind the wheel of the  _ Falcon. _

“Throw down the ramp!” Rey screams, and Finn does just that, following her into the  _ Falcon. _ Baby moves into the passenger’s seat, letting her put the car in reverse and roll them down the ramp. And not a moment too soon, for as soon as they hit the ground, the Death Gang’s red rig tries to block off the eighteen wheeler; Rey floors it backwards, watching as the truck on cruise control slams into the red rig.

The two rigs roll over each other, combusting in an explosion. Rey hits the brakes so hard the engine shuts off, all three of them watching in awe as an orange cloud of flame rises up into the air.

“Holy shit,” Finn murmurs in the back seat.

Rey glances back at him. “Told you I believed in us.” She starts the car back up and turns around, heading back for Han and Chewie.

The two men are right where she left them, gaping as she pulls up.

“Need a lift?” she asks brightly.

Han rolls his eyes. “Alright, kid, that was pretty clever. Now move back-- _ I’m _ driving.”

.

They’re coasting on fumes by the time they reach Takodana. Located at the edge of a forest, a wall stands around the community, sharpened logs forming a defensive barrier around the town. The gates are cattle gates, she realizes, sturdy and strong, and it takes a moment of honking for someone to let them in.

“Business?” the woman starts to ask, but she sees Han’s face and grins. “Han Solo, you old dog! What are you doing here?”

“Came to see Maz,” Han says with a winning smile. “And get this kitten purring again.”

“Well, we can take care of both. Peli’s at the garage and Maz is at the lodge.”

“Peli? That criminal? Guess I’ll be driving home with empty pockets, huh?”

The woman just laughs, sending them on their way. 

Peli is a woman with wild curls who, despite Han’s misgivings, seems happy to see him. Nevertheless, Han leaves Chewie at the garage to make sure she doesn’t cheat him before he, Rey, Baby, and Finn head to what looks to be the center of the small town. They pass rows of houses, some more recently constructed than others, before coming to a timber lodge that may once have been a meeting hall. 

“Maz is a bit of an acquired taste,” Han warns as they walk up the steps. “So let me do the talking. And whatever you do,  _ don’t stare. _ ”

As they push through the door, Rey is shocked to find that a  _ live band _ is playing music. There are dozens of tables set up all along the big open room, most people eating and drinking, others playing cards or catching up, but a short woman at the far end of the room bellows, “HAAAN SOLOOOOOO.”

The music stops, a glass shatters, and all eyes turn to the newcomers.

Han gives a nervous wave. “Hey, Maz.”

The music and chatter resume as Maz Kanata, a considerably short woman with thickset glasses, picks her way across the room. As she gets closer, Rey is stunned to scent her as an alpha. Alphas are  _ never _ that short, but here she stands, her presence looming over them despite her height.

“Where’s my boyfriend?” the short alpha demands.

“Chewie’s at the garage,” Han says, grinning at Rey and Finn.

“I like that omega.” Her gaze turns critical. “I assume you need something.  _ Desperately. _ Let’s get to it.” She waves an arm and leads them to a table near the back. 

Over greens grown in the patch of garden behind the lodge, Han tells Maz about Baby, the  _ Millennium Falcon, _ and the Guavian Death Gang. 

“You are right back in the mess!” Maz chuckles. 

“Maz, I need you to get these kids to Leia,” he says in a low, urgent voice.

Rey and Baby exchange looks. Who’s Leia?

“Hmm,” Maz says carelessly. “No.”

When the others stare at her, she continues, “You’ve been running away from this fight for too long. Han.  _ Ikingut. _ Go home.”

“Leia doesn’t wanna see me,” Han mutters.

“Please, we came here for your help,” Finn interrupts. 

“What fight?” Rey asks quietly.

Maz fixes her eyes on the younger woman. “The  _ only _ fight. Against those who want us to be ruled by our biology. You’re too young to remember, but when civilization was still standing, we had blockers and suppressants, anything from pills to injections. For the first time in thousands of years of human history, we were able to control our designations, not the other way around.” She shakes her head. “The packs that roam the planet want us to be controlled by our designations. They want us to go back to a time when your designation determined your place in the world. If and when civilization rebuilds,  _ they _ will be the ones controlling it. We must face them.  _ Fight _ them.” She looks at Rey and Finn. “ _ All _ of us.”

“Bold words for an alpha,” Finn says, and he has a point--it’s all very well and good for Maz to tell them to fight, but she’s an alpha. Her kind is  _ always _ fighting. 

“That’s true,” Maz agrees, bowing her head. “It’s easy for me to take a more aggressive stance because that’s who I’ve always been. But don’t you see? Alphas have always led the fight and made the rules. If omegas stand up to alphas, if betas stand up with them, alphas won’t rule the world anymore. When we rebuild civilization, we can rebuild  _ a society of equals. _ ”

“Maybe it was never a society of equals,” Finn says coldly. “If it was this easy to go back to the old ways, maybe they were never really gone.”

“Maybe,” Maz allows. “But they’re not going to go away just by wishing.”

Finn’s hands clench in his lap. “This isn’t my fault. This isn’t my fight.”

“On the contrary. This is your fight more than anyone’s. You’ve seen how omegas are treated.”

“I have,” Finn says quietly. “And I’ve seen what happens when omegas try to stand up to alphas, when betas try to stand up to alphas, when alphas try to stand up to other alphas. Getting away from the First Order was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and now you’re asking me to go  _ back _ and fight them? I left a pack where alphas made me fight. You’re just like them.” He gets up, making for the door.

Rey glances at Maz and then bolts after her new friend. “Finn, wait!” She catches up with him outside, tugging her unbuttoned coat tighter around her. It was warm in the lodge, a combination of people and a roaring fire, but out here it’s as cold and bleak as it always is this time of year. “Finn, that’s not what she meant--”

“It’s exactly what she meant.” He looks troubled, but underneath that, afraid. “Alphas...fighting’s in their nature. She’s never had to worry about her designation, she’s never had to live in fear of what someone could do to her.”

Rey bites her lip. Maz  _ doesn’t _ seem like the type of person who’s struggled in life, but what does Rey know? Maybe being an alpha comes with its own challenges. Maybe being a short female alpha comes with even more. “But she’s right...if we don’t stand up to packs like the First Order, who will?”

“I don’t know. Alphas like Maz, maybe. Betas. Maybe even other omegas. Anyone but me.” He searches her eyes, pleading. “Come with me, Rey. They’ll just turn you into a pawn here. Maybe together we can find somewhere that’s  _ really _ a safe haven, and not just pretending to be one.”

She glances back at the lodge and sees Baby standing on the stoop, watching her.

She could take him with her, she supposes. If his mother isn’t here. She and Finn could find a place to stay. They could look out for each other, protect each other from rogue alphas. Protect Baby from packs who want to steal him. 

_ And teach him to hide his whole life? _

As long as Baby is alive, he will never be safe. The son of a fertile alpha and omega, other packs will want him in the hopes that he inherited his parents’ reproductive gifts. He could present as an alpha in a few years and defend himself. He could present as a beta, and packs probably wouldn’t want him as badly then. Or…

He could present as an omega, and spend the rest of his life hiding from alphas like those in the First Order.

_ No. _

They have to fight, for children like Baby, for omegas like her and Finn. They have to fight to make the world a better place than the last generation left it. Maybe civilization really never was a society of equals...but maybe someday it can be.

“I’m staying here,” she says quietly.

Finn’s disappointment is evident. “Take care of yourself, Rey.” He heads towards the garage, where she’s sure he’s going to ask the mechanic for a way out of here. 

Baby comes up beside her, slipping his hand into hers. “Is he leaving?”

“Yeah. He is.” 

They’re quiet for a long moment; finally, Baby tugs her hand. “Can we go for a walk? I’m tired of sitting.”

She smiles down at the child. “‘Course we can.”

He tugs her towards the gate. “I wanna go in the woods.”

“Fine.” They manage the gate themselves, letting it clang shut as they leave. Someone will let them back in when they’re back. 

Baby leads the way into the woods. Green pines with only the barest traces of a snow long-since fallen tower over them, the ground a damp collection of leaves and dirt. It’s peaceful here, quiet save for the distant birdsong. Rey could live here. 

“I love forests,” Baby admits. “We camped out in a lot of them.”

“You and your dad?”

“And mom.” He shrugs. “We were all together, at first.” He sighs. “She’s not in Takodana.”

Rey’s heart sinks. “No?”

He shakes his head. “No. I would’ve smelled her. I dream about it sometimes, the way she smells.” His throat tightens. “I miss her.”

Rey squeezes his hand. “I don’t think I could remember what my parents smelled like if I tried,” she admits. “I don’t even remember what they look like.”

He looks up at her. “Why did they leave you at Niima Outpost?”

She shrugs. “To protect me. I...think. Honestly, I don’t really remember.” She takes a deep breath. “Sometimes I hear a voice saying, ‘We’ll come back for you, sweetheart, I promise.’ But I think it was something I only heard in a dream.”

Baby looks sadder than she’s ever seen him. “And they never did.”

“Mine didn’t.” She touches his shoulder. “Your mother’s still out there.”

“Yeah. Just like your parents.” He pushes away from her.

“Baby!”

He breaks into a run, tearing through the forest.

“Baby!” she shouts, running after him.

He’s quick and nimble, even more so than Rey. She’s fast when it comes to climbing things and picking through wreckage and debris, but running on flat ground like this is hard. Where Baby naturally ducks and turns, she wobbles on her feet and struggles to keep up.

Her blood is pounding in her ears...and so is something else.

She slows to a halt, pricking her ears. Is that just her heartbeat, or is that…?

No, that’s  _ definitely _ the roar of engines. 

“Baby!” she shouts, breaking into a run again. “Baby, they’re  _ coming _ !”

The engines are getting closer; she veers off to the right, hopelessly lost by now. She doesn’t know where Baby or Takodana are, but as long as she’s as far as possible from those motorcycles--

One such vehicle crashes through the foliage near her; she turns on her heel and tries to run, but they come tearing after her. Belatedly remembering the shotgun, she pulls it out and aims, but nothing happens.

“Safety,” she remembers aloud, fumbling with the gun. The motorcycle is coming closer, but she undoes the safety, aims, and squeezes the trigger in time.

_ BAM. _

The rider falls off his cycle, crashing to the humus below before the motorcycle wobbles and falls on top of him. Rey trembles all over. She’d led the Guavian Death Gang to their death only hours ago, but that had been different, somehow, than shooting someone in the heart.

She doesn’t have time to think about that now, though; she can hear others coming. Forcing herself to remain calm, she rights the motorcycle and climbs on. She’s only ridden one once before, but it comes back to her easily enough. 

At least, until she gets moving. The motorcycle seems to have a mind of its own, veering and leaning. She holds on for dear life, trying desperately to steer, but everything comes at her in a rush and she doesn’t know up from down--

The motorcycle slams into something and she flies over the handlebars, landing in an ungainly sprawl. Her head hits the ground with a crack, and dimly, she wonders if she has a concussion.

_ “Fuck,” _ she hisses. She landed on her side, and she seems to be mostly okay. No broken bones or sprains. Her head throbs, but she doesn’t think it’s too serious.

She starts to pull herself to her feet when a new awareness enters her consciousness and she goes absolutely rigid with attention. That  _ scent _ , she has to know where it came from, she has to chase it and cover herself in it--

_ Alpha. _

She realizes a beat before she sees him, the looming shadow that he is. Black hair, black leather jacket, black shirt, black jeans, black boots...and piercing brown eyes behind a smooth alabaster mask. 

_ Alpha, _ her mind screams, and she realizes in horror that she’s  _ responding _ to this stranger.

And what’s more, he knows it. She can  _ smell _ his satisfaction, his pleasure with her.

_ Alpha is pleased with us. _

_ Shut up! _ she screams at herself.  _ Shut up, shut up, shut  _ **_up!_ **

“The girl I’ve heard so much about,” he murmurs, and oh, she really wishes he hadn’t done that. His voice is liquid amber, smooth and beautiful and so deep she could lose herself in it. 

“The boy,” he continues, and she realizes he means Baby. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” she says...not because she’s trying to protect Baby, but because she  _ wants _ to tell this alpha the truth. It terrifies and overwhelms her. She gets to her feet, trying to assert some form of dominance...but her head swims, pinpricks swimming at the edges of her vision. She stumbles, and it seems to take an eternity not to fall...yet as her vision goes black and the ground begins to rush towards her, a strong pair of arms catches her. 

The last thing she remembers is the alpha’s scent.


	7. and the days will come and go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I should have mentioned this sooner, but I just kind of assumed everyone would put it together, but for those asking: yes, Baby is BB-8.

_ Even you have never faced such a test. _

So  _ this _ is what Snoke meant. 

He hadn’t thought it would be this difficult. He’d known that her scent would be overwhelming, that it would bring out his baser self, but he hadn’t thought it would be like  _ this. _ He hadn’t expected his thoughts and feelings to shift so intensely. He’d thought he’d want to claim her, and he does, but it’s much less animalistic than he’d thought it would be. He wants to claim her, yes, but he also wants to care for her. Watching her asleep in his arms, he’s seized by the mad temptation to build a house around her, right here and now, to protect her. 

Instead, he makes himself walk back to the hunters. There’s no shortage of curious looks when he comes back into the clearing, but no one dares question him. A few of the alphas catch the omega’s scent, interest and arousal spiking in the air, but a warning growl from Kylo has them backing off. 

_ Mine, _ he seems to tell them. And she will be his. He’ll make sure of it.

“Alpha,” one of the beta hunters says warily. “The boy…”

“He isn’t here.” He looks down at the omega in his arms. “Besides, we have everything we need.”

.

One of the luxuries afforded a leader of the hunt is a private car. Most of the hunters ride motorcycles and mopeds, and the higher-ranking alphas will share cars, but Kylo has his own car. He lays the omega in the backseat, carefully settling her against the seat and tucking in her feet so they won’t get stuck in the car door. 

He drives carefully, constantly looking at her through the rearview mirror. She sleeps the whole ride back to the base, and remains asleep even when he gently pulls her from the car. She likely has a concussion from that tumble she took over the handlebars, but rather than carry her to the medical ward, where any unmated alpha could smell her, he takes her to his storage unit and has a medic brought to him. An  _ omega _ medic.

The woman they bring to him keeps her lips pursed. Kylo leaves her with his omega ( _ my omega _ ) and goes to Snoke.

The Alpha Prime is eating, but he allows Kylo through. Snoke rarely allows anyone to see him eating, or drinking, or bathing, or doing anything that might make him seem human, but it’s always been different with Kylo. Kylo is the closest thing he has to a son, and though the leader of a pack has traditionally never had an heir, everyone seems to agree that Kylo will dominate the other alphas when the time comes to choose a new leader. 

“Did you find the boy?” Snoke asks, popping a cherry tomato in his mouth. 

“No. But we found the omega.”

Snoke considers this. “And?”

Kylo hesitates. “And…?”

Snoke beckons him closer. Kylo hesitates before walking towards him, wincing when the alpha prime sniffs.

“You smell like her...but you haven’t had her.”

“No.” He straightens up, slipping back a step.

Snoke goes back to his food. “You will. In time. But not yet.”

Kylo had had the same thought, yet when Snoke says it, it makes his stomach turn for reasons he can’t quite articulate. “I will?”

“Yes. You are the strongest alpha in this pack, besides me, and when my time on this planet has come to an end, you will defeat the other alphas who are foolish enough to contend for my place. She is an unmated omega; naturally, she will be given to you.”

_ Given. _ As if she is a gift. A thing to be handed over from owner to owner.

“You don’t want her?” Snoke asks innocently, but Kylo is not stupid enough to think he is truly ignorant. 

“I do. Only…”

“Only what?” When Kylo doesn’t answer right away, Snoke leers at him. “I see. You want to play with your food before taking a bite. Very well. Play your games, but do not mate her until I give the command.”

“Of course.”

“You may go.”

He does, backing up slowly until he is at the door. Once gone, he strides for his quarters. 

The medic is waiting outside, hands in her pockets. “She’s definitely concussed, but no other signs of injury. Still unconscious.”

“Fine. How much longer will she be unconscious?”

“It’s hard to say. Could be a few hours, could be a few days. She seems healthy enough, shouldn’t be much longer.”

He nods, dismissing her.

The omega is still laid out on his bed, exactly where he left her. Something animalistic rumbles in satisfaction at the thought of her lying on  _ his _ bed. He pulls up his lone chair, straddling it with his chin resting on his arms as he watches her. He could do this for hours, just watch her sleep, watch her chest rise and fall with deep breaths. 

_ You want to play with your food before taking a bite, _ Snoke had said. But what does that mean? Court her? Woo her? Seduce her? He’s never been with anyone before, he wouldn’t even know where to start. Is this one of those things his alpha instinct would take over?

Two hours go by with him just watching her, but he never tires of his vigil. Some ancient instinct in him wants to protect her, to watch over her, to be there when she wakes. 

He needs her to need him.

At last, she begins to shift in her sleep. He straightens up, ready.

She wakes slowly, her body coming to life inch by inch until her eyes open at last. He watches her eyes focus on the ceiling, her brow furrow, and her scent glands expand and contract as she takes him in. Wide-eyed, she turns to look at him, sitting up.

“Where am I?” she demands.

_ You’re in my bed. You’re in my home. You’re with the First Order. You’re mine. _

“You’re my guest.”

She looks around, taking in her surroundings. “Where…” She purses her lips. 

“You mean, where’s the boy? You’ll be relieved to hear I have no idea.” He stands slowly, coming around the chair to loom over her. She visibly tenses, her hands balling into fists. He cocks his head. “You still don’t trust me.”

“That happens when you’re being hunted.”

He looks at her for a long moment before sitting on the end of his bed. She scoots back towards the headboard, afraid, but he can smell her arousal spike at the same time.

_ She hates how much she wants me. _

“You must have lived in near isolation to avoid being taken by a pack this long,” he observes. “What was that like, I wonder? Knowing any minute, someone could discover you?”

She sets her jaw, staring past him.

“Lonely, I imagine,” he continues. “No pack, no family. Just you.”

“Stop it,” she whispers. 

He realizes he’s leaning in. He leans back, giving her more room to breathe. Not that her every breath won’t be full of his scent in here. 

“What do you want with me?” she asks at last.

“I think you know.”

Her cheeks turn red. “What if I don’t want it?”

“You know I can take whatever I want, omega.” He touches her chin, forcing her to look at him. “But I don’t think I have to take anything from you. I think you’ll give it to me.”

“I’m not giving you anything,” she hisses.

“We’ll see.” Pulled by instinct, he leans forward, licking the scent gland on her neck.

To his delight, the omega shudders and sighs, her body reacting before her mind can. He can feel the pleasure rolling off of her before she can mask it, the longing and desire.

_ More, _ she seems to beg, and he licks her gland again. 

She cries out, hands scrabbling for purchase until they land on his arms, gripping him with something like fear.

“Don’t be afraid,” he murmurs, nuzzling her neck. “I feel it too.”

The omega makes a small sound, her fingers digging into his arms and her breath coming out shaky and slow. 

“What’s your name?” he asks softly, bringing up his hand to stroke her collar.

She lets out another shaky breath. “Rey.”

“Rey.” Her name tastes divine on his tongue, like early spring when everything is fresh and new, when the days grow longer and warmer. “I’m Kylo Ren.”

She doesn’t say anything, but that’s alright; they don’t need to talk right now. He shifts closer to her until she’s half on his lap, nuzzling and licking her neck. She’ll reek of him soon.

_ Good. _

She shifts on his lap, and he rumbles in satisfaction, scraping his teeth against the sweet smelling skin of her neck. Her whole body shudders in pleasure, her scent swelling to tell him how much she likes it. He pushes her hair to the side, tugging at the collar of her jacket to have more access to her skin. 

With a sudden movement, Rey shifts and then  _ hurls _ him to the ground. It takes him by surprise, both the action itself and the strength behind it, and it takes him a moment to realize that she’s sprinting for the door.

He thinks fast, reaching out and wrapping a hand around her ankle. She falls, grunting and kicking as he tugs her towards him. She’s fast and, apparently, strong, but he’s bigger and stronger, and he manages to pin her body beneath his. She growls up at him, baring her teeth, and he finds it utterly  _ enchanting.  _

“What do you think you’re doing, little omega?” he asks, mostly because he has an idea she won’t like being called  _ little omega. _

Sure enough, she thrashes against him, trying her best to wriggle free, but his grip on her is like iron. “Let me  _ go _ !”

“I don’t think I will.” He tries to sound bored, but he’s sure she can smell his arousal. 

Rey opens her mouth to retort--and then she winces, her whole body contracting.

“What--?” he starts to ask, but her scent shifts, and instinctively, he knows. “Are you going into heat?” he asks, his cock stiffening.

“No,” she says far too quickly, but her eyes are worried. “It’s not time.”

He dips his head, breathing in her scent. “You  _ smell _ like you’re going into heat.”

“I’m not.” She winces again. Omegas get cramps before they go into heat, he knows. It’s their body’s way of preparing. And this omega...she’s  _ definitely _ going into heat. 

“You sure about that, Rey?”

“I can’t be,” she says, and her voice is smaller and squeakier this time. 

_ She’s afraid. She doesn’t know what it means. She’s probably never been around an alpha while in heat before.  _

“It’s alright,” he soothes, nuzzling her neck. “I’ll take care of you, Rey. I’ll take  _ such _ good care of you, you won’t want for anything. Just let me...mmm.” His hips rock of their own accord, his knot seeking out her slick omega cunt. “Let me take care of you,” he breathes, unable to help himself. 

Rey turns her head away, but he can feel the conflict within her. He understands; he’s a stranger, and he abducted her...but he’s an alpha, she’s going into heat, and she knows she isn’t about to leave anytime soon. Even if she did manage to escape, she’d be thrown to the mercy of whichever unmated alpha found her first, and there’s no telling how gentle those alphas would be with her. 

(Not that he’d ever let another alpha in this pack have her...but she doesn’t know that.)

“It’s alright,” he croons, unpinning one of her wrists to stroke her cheek.

This proves to be a mistake.

Rey uses her free hand to shove back his shoulder; once again, she takes him by surprise with a sudden show of strength, pushing him off and flipping him onto his back.

Only, she doesn’t try to run this time. This time, she straddles his hips, grinding down against him. 

His hands fly to her hips, pulling her down as he feels the warm wetness of her through their clothes. She plants her hands on his chest, breathing hard as she grinds herself against him over and over and over. All the while she stares into his eyes, her pupils dilating and a feral hunger taking over. 

They come at the same time, still staring at each other and breathing hard, and he would reach up to nip her neck if he wasn’t so afraid of ruining the utter perfection of the moment.

Slowly, she climbs off of him, crawling away until her back hits the wall. She stares at him, her arousal replaced with fear.

“I,” he starts to say, and then swallows. “I’m going to get some things. Food, and water, and...things to make you comfortable. During your heat. Alright?”

Slowly, she nods. Her breathing is returning to normal, and he’s glad for that.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” he asks gently.

She thinks about it a moment, and then shakes her head. 

“Alright. I’ll be right back.” He gets up, wincing as he feels the remains of his... _ excitement _ in his pants. He should change, but he has a feeling that might terrify the poor creature right now. He wants her  _ begging _ for his knot, not eyeing it in disgust, so he adjusts himself as best he can and leaves the unit.

The guard is an omega, which he notes with approval; he wouldn’t trust an alpha near his omega, and even a beta might give him some pause. He has nothing to fear from an omega. 

In high spirits, he swaggers off to find everything he could possibly need to sustain them over the next few days.


	8. and the band will march along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: things get...a little intense in the latter half of the chapter. I promise there is no rape or dubcon. For more details, read the end notes.

Rey sits in the room for a long moment after the alpha leaves, breathing hard. 

Her heat is coming. It’s  _ here. _

But  _ how? _

She isn’t due for two more months,  _ maybe _ a month and a half. It always comes every six months, ever since she presented. 

_ But I scented him, and I went into heat. _

She’s scented alphas before...but none of them smelled like Kylo Ren. Their smells were too strong and unpleasant. Aggressive. And it isn’t that Kylo Ren’s scent isn’t also strong and aggressive, but it’s…

Well, she  _ likes _ it. 

She likes him, even if he is an alpha with the First Order and even if he did abduct her. He’s handsome, he smells nice, and when she’d come on the bulge in his pants…

She shudders, a cramp twisting her stomach. She wants to lie down somewhere comfortable. Maybe when he comes back he can give her something for the pain. 

_ He can give me his knot and fill me with his cum. _

Her cheeks flush. The omega in her is eager, and she has to tamp down on her instincts. She is  _ not _ going to let him knot her. What happened a few minutes ago was a mistake, one she does not intend to repeat.

_ Then what do I do? _

She can’t stay here. If her heat progresses much more, she won’t be able to resist his scent. She won’t be able to control herself, and once her heat is fully on her, she’ll beg for him to knot her like it’s the only thing standing between her and death. 

No, she has to leave. She has to find a way out of here. Pushing herself up on wobbly legs, she stumbles to the door. 

An omega is standing outside, and he leaps back with wide eyes when Rey opens the door.

“Omega,” he says with respect and trepidation, jerking his head in a nod. 

“Uh...omega,” she returns, heart racing. 

Wondering if she can get away with it, she starts to walk away.

“Wait! Where...where are you going?”

“On a walk,” she says in her most unconcerned voice. 

“I don’t think you’re supposed to,” the omega calls after her, but there’s so much uncertainty in his voice that Rey knows she’s about to get away with this.

“Why not?” she asks, turning around and planting her hands on her hips.

The omega opens and closes his mouth, clearly trying to think.

“What are your orders, exactly?” she demands, putting authority into her voice. She knows she must reek of Kylo Ren, and she hopes the combination of his scent and her no-nonsense voice makes the omega listen to her.

“Well...not to...not to let anyone in,” he says sheepishly.

“Right. Not to let anyone in,  _ except _ for me or Kylo Ren.”

The omega hesitates.

“Who do I smell like, omega?” she barks.

“Kylo Ren,” he says at once.

“And who do you think you’ll have to answer to if I’m not allowed to take my walk?”

“Kylo Ren,” he says again, shoulders slumping in something like relief. “Of course. My apologies, omega.”

“Apology accepted, omega.” She spins on her heel and walks off, heading towards the woods. If she can just make it to the forest, she can probably get back to Takodana, or at least make a decent headstart before Kylo comes looking for her…

The First Order base, if that’s what this is, is one of the most unusual places she’s ever seen. Big metal units like the one she just escaped are everywhere, some stacked on top of each other with crude stairs leading up to the second and third levels. There are big rigs here, too, cranes and industrial sized drills in the distance. The sounds and smells tell Rey that they’re close to the ocean, which explains all the shipping units and the drills. 

She can hear and smell other people on the base, but she’s quick and manages to avoid most of them. 

It surprises her, then, when she rounds a corner and nearly slams into three people she never thought she’d see here.

Finn, Han, and Chewie.

“You alright?” Han asks in a low voice, gripping a shotgun.

Rey looks between them, wide-eyed. “Yeah?”

“Good.” He goes to check the corner, Chewie checking behind them.

“What happened to you? Did he hurt you?” Finn asks at once. He frowns. “You smell…”

“I know,” she says quickly. “Finn, what are you doing here?”

“We came back for you,” he says as if it’s obvious.

“It was his idea,” Chewie offers.

Rey throws herself at Finn, hugging him tight. “Thank you.” Maybe it’s just her heat, but she’s getting emotional.

Thankfully, Han breaks up the reunion with, “Escape now, hug later.”

The four of them slide from shadow to shadow, pressing their backs against walls and trying to make themselves small whenever someone gets close. Rey’s stomach keeps cramping, her center full of slick. Soon every alpha on the base is going to be able to smell her, if they haven’t already.

They finally reach the end of the base, and all they have to do is cross a narrow bridge to get to the woods beyond, when Kylo Ren’s voice roars,  _ “BRING THE OMEGA TO ME NOW!” _

Rey sucks in a breath, trembling. He sounds close.  _ Too _ close.

“Finn, you take Rey across the bridge,” Han instructs. “Chewie and I will create a distraction.”

“A distraction?” Rey asks warily. “What sort of distraction?”

“I don’t know, we’ll think of something. Just...get across the bridge and hide.”

“But what if he--”

“Just do it,” Han orders in a curt voice.

Rey hesitates, but Finn takes her hand, tugging her across the narrow bridge. As soon as they’ve crossed, they hide behind the trees, watching the base. Rey’s stomach cramps again and again, and it’s perhaps for this reason that she sees Kylo Ren stride out of the base and towards the bridge. 

_ He smells me, _ she realizes with horror...and something almost like pleasure. 

_ Alpha smells me, alpha’s coming for me-- _

_ Shut up! _ she screams at herself. 

He’s halfway across the bridge when Han runs out from behind his hiding place, shouting. His voice echoes over the cavern, and though he’s across the bridge, Rey can hear him as clearly as if he was right next to her...so why, then, did she hear him shout the name  _ Ben? _

Slowly, Kylo turns around. “Han Solo,” he says softly, but Rey can hear him as clear as day.

_ How does he know Han? _ she wonders, sharing a confused look with Finn.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Kylo continues.

Slowly, Han walks across the bridge towards the alpha.

“What’s he doing?” Rey hisses.

“Distracting him,” Finn whispers back.

“You can get rid of the tough alpha act,” Han says, not unkindly. 

“It was never an act.”

“Oh no?”

Rey can sense Kylo’s displeasure...and something almost like fear. “It was always who I was. You tried to hide it with blockers. You couldn’t handle me as I was meant to be.”

“And this is what you were meant to be? Snoke’s dog?”

Kylo growls. “Watch it, old man.”

“I am an old man,” Han agrees. “I’m  _ your _ old man. That used to mean something.”

“Not anymore.”

Rey gapes at Finn.  _ Kylo is Han’s son? _

“You’re still my son,” Han insists. “You’re still Ben Solo.”

“I killed Ben Solo,” Kylo growls. “He was weak and foolish like his father, so I destroyed him.”

“You never believed that until you met Snoke.”

“He showed me the truth.”

“He showed you a  _ lie. _ ” Han moves closer. “Do you really think things are better this way? Are you really  _ happy _ ?”

“I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.”

“But are you  _ happy _ ?”

There’s a long pause before Kylo says in a quiet, cracked voice, “It’s too late.”

“No, it’s not.” Han moves even closer until he’s right in front of Kylo--or is it Ben? “Leave here with me. Come home. We miss you.”

There’s another pause before the cracked voice confesses, “I’m being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain. I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?”

“Yes. Anything.” 

Kylo moves forward--and then a cramp seizes Rey, fresh slick coating her inside. She doubles over, whimpering.

Kylo whirls around. “ _ The omega. _ ”

“Ben,” Han says, his voice more frantic now. “Don’t worry about her, let’s just go--”

But Kylo strides across the bridge. 

_ He’s coming for me. _

Finn grabs her hand, tugging her through the snowy woods. It’s hard, but she can smell the anger and heat and desire rolling off of Kylo, and it frightens her. She stumbles over logs and roots, following Finn.

“This way!” he tells her. “The  _ Falcon _ is this way.”

“But Han and Chewie--”

Their only warning is a growl and a dark blur before Kylo lands in front of them, clearly having taken a shortcut. 

“We’re not done yet,” he says calmly, eyes on Rey.

“Ben!” Han shouts from behind Rey and Finn, but neither of them dare to turn around. “Ben, let her go!”

“And here I thought your motives were genuine,” Kylo sneers. “You were just trying to keep her for yourself.”

Han moves in front of Rey. “Ben, you’re almost in rut, you’re not thinking clearly.”

_ “Get away from her!” _ Kylo roars.

_ He’s jealous of his own father,  _ Rey realizes.  _ He thinks Han wants to mate me. _ He really  _ is _ almost in rut to think that.

“Han,” she starts to say, worried, and then Finn rushes forward.

_ “Finn!” _ she screams, but he’s already clashing with Kylo, alpha and omega growling as one throws down the other. They fight in the old way, with hands and teeth, and though both have clearly trained in combat, Finn tires quicker, whereas Kylo hardly breaks a sweat. Rey can only watch, horrified...and aroused. She hates herself for it, feeling like a helpless omega as she watches two men fight over her. Several times she tries to interfere, but Han always holds her back.

When Kylo finally knocks Finn against a tree so hard the other man goes limp, he moves forward as if to finish the job, but Rey screams,  _ “Don’t!” _

That makes Kylo look up, watching her with an intensity that frightens her. 

She turns to Han. “Take Finn to the  _ Falcon. _ ”

Han frowns. “What are you--”

“Take him and go. If I’m not there in twenty minutes, leave without me.”

“Rey,  _ no _ \--”

“Do it!” she says hysterically. “He won’t let me leave, don’t you see?”

Han glances between Rey and his son. “I can’t leave you like this.”

“You can.” She turns her gaze back to Kylo, who hasn’t missed a word of this interaction. “You want me?” she asks him. “Come get me.” And with that, she turns on her heel and runs through the forest.

She can hear his heavy footfalls as he tears after her with a speed that nearly takes her breath away. She runs harder than she’s ever run in her life, ignoring her cramps and the slick between her legs, yet he gains on her as if it were nothing.

He’s close to her when she dodges and spins, running in the opposite direction. She thinks she’s lost him for a moment--and then he bowls into her side, knocking her over and rolling with her on the ground, him on top and then her, limbs tangled as they kick up snow and leaves. 

When they roll to a stop, he’s on top, pinning her to the ground as easily as he did in his room. 

“You need an alpha,” he growls. “Not Han Solo, not Finn,  _ an alpha. _ ”

“I can take care of myself,” she growls back, using her legs to flip them over. 

“You think so?” he scoffs up at her, still holding her wrists. She tries to get off him, but he holds her down. “What do you think you’ll do once you leave with my father, hmm? What do you think will happen if you meet another alpha?”

She hesitates, and it’s enough for him to sit up, his body cradling hers. 

“I’d take care of you,” he says, and his voice is so gentle compared to a moment ago. 

_ He would take care of me, _ she knows. As much as she resents being chased and manhandled by him, she knows it could be a lot worse. He could’ve had her by now if he wanted, but he’s waiting. 

_ Waiting for me to say I want it. _

It thrills her, and she hates it, so she wrenches her wrists free and reels her arm back before some feral instinct takes over, making her scratch his face with her nails. The cuts are deep, and he falls back, hand coming up to cup his cheek.

She stands up, and she could leave, but she likes him like this, on the ground. She stalks towards him, and to her satisfaction, he crawls back, looking less the powerful alpha and more like helpless prey. Is this what it feels like? To be an alpha? To stand over someone like this and know they’re afraid of you? 

Hungry and eager, she drops to her knees again. He watches with wide eyes as she pulls his hand away, looking at his cheek. The scratches run red with blood, and the sight awakens something in her. She leans forward, licking the blood from his cheek and savoring the salty sweet taste of it. He shudders beneath her, hopelessly aroused.

“Do it,” she growls. 

He leans back, his eyes searching hers.

“For fuck’s sake,” she says, suddenly desperate. “Fucking  _ do it _ \--”

She doesn’t get to finish, because he pounces. 

Somehow, she doesn’t quite know how, she ends up on her hands and knees, her pants and underwear pushed down her legs. She doesn’t even feel the cold night air because Kylo is hot and solid behind her, and when he pushes inside her, she arches her back and moans. 

It’s like nothing she’s ever felt before. She’s humped pillows and used her fingers before, but  _ this? _ Being filled with this  _ solidness _ ? He fills her as her fingers never could, reaches deeper inside her than her fingers ever could, and when he pulls back only to push in again, everything whites out. Her arms shake so hard she lands on her elbows, her fingers scrabbling for purchase in the snow as he fills her again and again and again.

“Alpha,” she whimpers. “Please... _ please _ …”

“It’s alright,” he pants, his hands gripping her hips so tight it’s a wonder they don’t break. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

She presses her cheek to the ground, willing the snow to cool some of the fire inside her. He feels so good, so  _ perfect _ , yet it’s not enough. She wants more. She  _ needs _ more.

“Alpha,” she begs. “Alpha, alpha, please, please, I need it so bad, I need it…”

“I know.” He moves faster now, and the friction feels so good she begins to sob. “I know, you’re being so good, it’ll feel better in a moment.”

On a whim, she touches herself, fingers finding her slick-soaked clit, and it’s enough; she barrels over the edge, shouting and shuddering.

There’s a growl behind her, and then the swell of what can only be a knot. She’s still gasping when he slumps over her, licking her neck soothingly. 

The cramps are gone, she realizes. The heat is still there, pulsing beneath her skin, but she doesn’t feel like she’s on fire.

It almost makes her angry, how much better this feels with an alpha. All this time, she’s suffered alone when she could have found an  _ alpha _ to make it better?

_ Maybe omegas don’t disappear as unwillingly as I’d thought, _ she admits to herself.  _ Maybe they leave because they know it’s better than being alone. _

“Now,” he says after a long moment. “Are you done trying to run?”

Meekly, she nods her head. 

“That’s a good omega.”

She thrills at the endearment, and hates herself a little for it. When his knot finally goes down and he pulls out of her, she can’t help a small yip of disappointment.

“Later,” he promises, stuffing himself back into his pants. Rey pushes herself up, pulling up her own pants. She’s heard that your first time having sex can hurt, but she doesn’t think she’s ever felt better in her life. 

Kylo pulls her to her feet and then wraps an arm around her shoulders, leading her back to the base. She looks up at him, wincing when she sees the cut on his face. 

“Does it hurt?”

He touches his cheek. “Not really.”

She almost apologizes, and then forces herself not to, because he  _ did _ abduct her. “I don’t know why I did it,” she admits instead.

To her surprise, he smiles. “I do.”

“You do? Why?”

He chooses his words carefully. “You had to know that you were the one in control. You had to know that you could beat me and wound me if you needed to. Otherwise you would have wondered if it was really your choice.”

It’s true, and it stuns her how easily he put into words the churning mass of emotions inside her right now. 

_ It’s almost as if he knows me better than I know myself. _

When they reach the bridge, she looks back, just once. She doesn’t see her friends...and she doesn’t quite know how she feels about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is an intense chase sequence between Kylo and Rey and some violence (he pins her to the ground, she scratches his face) before she asks him to knot her. It's a bit rough, but it is established that Rey needed to assert her dominance in order to feel that her consent was given freely and not coerced out of her.


	9. 'til the day you cast a shadow and it's nothing like your own

He takes a shower as soon as they get back, covered in sweat and dried cum as he is. It’s a small stall by the door, so he’ll hear if she tries to get out...but somehow, he doesn’t think she’ll try that again. 

When he emerges, towel around his hips, he sees that not only has she not left, but she’s made herself at home. His bed, little more than a mattress held up by cinderblocks, has been shoved into the corner, and every pillow and blanket he owns plus a few t-shirts have been nestled into it.

_ She’s nesting, _ he realizes, feeling a rush of something like affection. 

She’s also stripped down to her tank top and pants, her skin flushed and glistening as she busies herself with the nest. She barely looks up at him, except to ask, “Can you put on pants? I need that towel.”

Bemused, he pulls off the towel, tossing it at her; it lands on the bed and she immediately seizes it. He pulls on sweatpants, watching her work. It certainly looks...like something. He’s truthfully never seen a nest before, but then again, he wouldn’t have; omegas typically only show their nest to their mate. 

_ She’s showing it to me, _ he thinks, pleased, before remembering that she has little choice. 

He sits in his chair, watching as she puts the nest together. She rubs her face on everything, scenting it before arranging it just so. There’s a method to the madness, he’s sure...he just can’t figure out what.

It doesn’t matter. He’s content to wait and watch. 

.

It’s late by the time she finishes, so hot he can  _ feel _ it and panting slightly. But she isn’t ready to couple just yet; instead, she buries herself in her nest, relaxing at last. 

It’s kind of adorable, and he hates how fond of her he feels. He would stand vigil all night if he had to. Maybe he will.

Yes, he realizes as her eyes droop shut, her breathing deep and even, he’s going to stand vigil for a  _ while. _

.

It’s hours later when he wakes. He’s halfway through realizing he’d fallen asleep to begin with when a hot, delicious scent creeps into the edges of his awareness.

_ Omega. _

He sits up, eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. She’s still asleep, but she’s shifting restlessly, her legs rubbing together and her mouth making the sweetest little whimpering noises. He moves slowly to the bed, his hand traveling up her leg.

“Rey,” he rasps, marveling at how  _ ripe _ she smells, how ready to be  _ fucked _ she smells. “Omega.”

Her eyes flutter open, and he knows instantly that she’s fully in heat now. Her pupils have contracted, making her eyes dark and glittering.

“Alpha,” she whispers, reaching for him.

He loses every ounce of control then, pouncing on her like he had in the forest. Somehow he gets their pants off, yanking her underwear down her legs before he sheathes himself inside her.

She feels fucking  _ incredible. _

He’s never had sex before, if truth be told. He’d been too young when the world fell, and he’d had little interest in the omegas that joined the pack after it formed. They smelled enticing, to be sure, but he’d always viewed them as distractions. Alphas are always in control, except when they’re in rut, and then they’re at the mercy of their own biology. He hadn’t wanted that, preferring to keep control over himself and gain the respect of those around him. He’ll need it if he hopes to become Alpha Prime someday.

But now, his cock buried so deep inside Rey that he doesn’t think he can ever leave, he wonders why he never tried this sooner.

_ It wasn’t her, _ he realizes, thrusting until her back arches and she whines.  _ She’s the only omega I’ve ever wanted.  _

He tries to cling to some semblance of control, not wanting to hurt her or frighten her, so he tries to slow his movements...but she drags her fingernails down his back, begging, “Harder, please, I want, I  _ need _ it harder, deeper, alpha, alpha, alpha…”

He rises up on his knees, hands gripping her hips as he fucks her harder. She cries out in something like happy torment, digging her fingers into the sheets and pillows of her nest as she writhes against him. Her tank top is sticking to her skin, sweat beading at her neck and chest, and he resists the urge to reach down and lick it from her. Plenty of time for that later, when he’s knotting her. 

The very thought makes him growl with pleasure, and when his knot  _ does _ form, she shudders in ecstasy, her cunt clenching down on him as if determined to squeeze every last drop of cum from him. He sinks onto the bed, rolling them both onto their sides.

The fever of their coupling doesn’t abate right away; she licks the sweat from his neck, paying special attention to his scent gland. He finds himself rumbling in satisfaction, unable to help his pleasure. He wraps his arms around her, stroking the back of her head as she laves him with her tongue. 

After a few moments, though, the licking subsides, and she nestles her head against his chest. He lies completely still, afraid that if he moves the wrong way or too suddenly, she’ll come to her senses and remember that she hates him.

Well. That she’s pretending to hate him, at any rate.

He understands her hesitation to be with him and her earlier desperation to leave. He understands that it wasn’t an easy choice for her, and that it took everything for her to make it. He doesn’t want to push her or scare her. He wants her to come to him on her own terms, to realize that they’re meant to be together without any pushing or prodding from him. 

It doesn’t mean he isn’t impatient for the moment of realization to come.

He slips out of her when his knot fades. She’s already half-asleep, and when he rolls onto his back, she blindly follows, draping half of her body over his.

Maybe this will be easier than he thought.

.

He wakes hours later, warm and hard and content. Rey is still asleep, but when he reaches down to nuzzle her, she begins to shift. Her scent is calm and content...at first.

It shifts very suddenly into angry and afraid. Before he can soothe his omega, she elbows him in the stomach,  _ hard, _ and skitters out of the bed, backing up with wild eyes. 

“Easy,” he says in his calmest voice, moving slowly so as not to startle her. 

Her breathing is hard, her scent still alarmed as she takes him in...but he can see her responding to his voice. 

“Rey,” he says, and her anger wavers. “Rey, it’s me. You’re alright.”

Her hands are balled into fists, her shoulders trembling. Did she wake from some nightmare? 

“You’re upset,” he states calmly. “Why don’t you get back in your nest and I’ll bring you something to eat?”

She hesitates, and he can see her logic fighting through her terror. Slowly, she nods, stumbling back towards her nest. He moves slowly away from the bed, letting her bury herself in blankets while he goes towards the supply of food he’d brought, fruit and bread and sustenance bars. He chooses a small assortment and pours a glass of water, bringing them over to her slowly.

Is this normal, he wonders? An alpha offering goods like this in the hopes his omega will allow him back in her nest? Shouldn’t he be taking control and showing her she’s alright? 

Not that he’d know the first thing about what’s normal between alphas and omegas. For someone who fought so hard to return to the old ways, he’s finding out he really has no idea what those entail.

To his relief, Rey takes the food from him, her eyes glued to his as she pops raspberries in her mouth. He gets so caught up in watching her that he finds himself popping a raspberry in her mouth of his own accord.

To his surprise, she takes it, keeping her lips on his fingers for a beat longer than she needs to. Her eyes are blazing, and he can smell her scent shifting. 

“Rey,” he says quietly, and then she’s clambering into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him hungrily.

_ Well, _ he thinks with a purr of satisfaction,  _ that worked. _

He lets her ride him for a while, but before long both their instincts take over, and he presses her into the bed as his knot swells. She lies there, drunk off heat and sex and need as he fills her. 

“Where did you go?” he murmurs as he lies beside her. 

She looks up at him, confused. 

“Earlier,” he says, stroking her hair from her face. “When you woke up. Where did you go?”

She drops her eyes to where she’s tracing the muscles of his chest. “I forgot about...the forest. For a second. When I woke up, I knew I was in heat, and I knew...an alpha was there. And I knew I’d never let an alpha near me in heat before.”

He understands that. “Your instinct reacted before you were fully conscious.”

“I guess so.” She looks back up at him. “I didn’t mean...I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright.” He strokes her back. “I know you were scared.” He tips up her chin. “You never have to be afraid of me, alright, Rey? I’m--”  _ your alpha, _ he starts to say, but that feels like too much too soon. He swallows. “I’m safe,” he settles on instead.

“I know,” she says quietly, and his heart swells. 

Of his own volition, he reaches down and kisses her forehead.

Rey doesn’t protest.

.

The next few days are spent in a blissful, heated haze. Rey is sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, but always eager for more of him. It bowls him over, how much she wants him. Never in all his life has he felt this wanted, not even by his parents, not even by…

_ Snoke. _

The specter of the alpha prime hangs above him, threatening to shatter the illusion of peace he’s woven. Once Rey’s heat is over, he’ll have to report to the alpha prime and wait for instructions.

It won’t be so bad, he tries to tell himself. She’ll want to mate him by then. And maybe...maybe he’ll challenge Snoke for the primacy. It’s the old way, isn’t it? Alphas challenge each other all the time. Snoke is old, and likely impotent. He commands respect because of his station, but not because anyone has ever actually seen him assert dominance.

_ We could rule the pack, her and I.  _

It’s a fever dream, one he ought not even to entertain…

But when he rocks into her and she clings to his shoulders, chanting, “ _ alpha, alpha, alpha,” _ he can’t help but think that he’d give her anything. The First Order, Alaska, the whole world if she asked. 

“ _ Alpha, _ ” she chants, and he silences her with a nip to her neck.

“Mine,” he growls, and he doesn’t think he imagines the way she shivers at that. “You’re mine. My omega. My Rey.  _ Mine. _ ”

She comes with a strangled cry.

.

Her heat fades over the last day. The more it fades, the harder they both seem to cling to it. He can’t understand his own desperation, let alone hers, but he doesn’t question it, rocking his hips into hers even when his knot grows sensitive and sore; he doesn’t stop until she pushes him away at last, a mournful look on her face.

“I can’t,” she murmurs. “It’s...it’s over. It just hurts now.”

It frightens him, and he hides in the shower until he knows he can’t avoid it any longer. Sooner or later, he’ll have to come out and face the facts, which are that he loves this omega...and strangely enough, she seems to love him, too.

Rey slips into the shower as soon as he’s finished, giving him time to put on clean clothes and regain something like composure. She spends a long time in there, too; when she exits, he looks away to give her some privacy while she changes. He’d left out clean clothes for her, knowing her old ones were in need of a good wash. He’d take care of that later...if she’d let him.

When she’s finished dressing, she sits across from him on the floor. “What happens now?” she asks softly. 

He takes a deep breath. “That’s what I’ve been asking myself. Rey, the reason I brought you here…”

“Was to mate me. I know.” she wraps her arms around her knees. “But you haven’t done that yet.”

“I haven’t,” he agrees. “And...I don’t know if I will. Snoke wanted me to mate you when the time was right, but...I don’t want to mate you unless you ask me to.”

She considers him. “What will you do, then?”

He takes another deep breath. “I don’t know. If I refuse, Snoke may let any number of things happen...including exile from the pack and giving you to another alpha.”

Her face hardens. “Fuck that.”

“Exactly how I feel,” he agrees. “But either way, if you stay here, you’re going to be mated against your will.”

She bites the inside of her cheek. “And...if I don’t stay here?”

He spreads his hands. “I think that may be your best bet. I can’t do much, but I can give you a head start. Do you think you could find your way home from here?”

“What, set me loose... _ alone _ ?”

“Well, how else would I do it?” he asks patiently.

She looks hurt. “I thought...you’d come with me.”

His lip curls. “What would I do out there, Rey?”

She scoots closer to him. “Help me put an end to this. There are others out there who want us to rule ourselves, not be ruled by our biology.”

He recoils. “You believe that?”

“Don’t you?” she asks in disbelief. “You just said you don’t want to mate me against my will. Those aren’t the words of an alpha who believes in the old ways.”

He grits his teeth. “What do you know about the old ways?”

“Probably about as much as you,” she retorts. “I know you believe a version of the old ways that have been sold to you by someone who only stands to benefit from them. I know you’re a good person, even if you try to hide it. I know that you’re scared it’s too late to turn back.”

“I’m not scared,” he grinds out, but she shakes her head.

“I heard you say it on the bridge...to your father.”

“That was nothing. A moment of weakness,” he insists. 

“By that logic, I’m also a moment of weakness.”

“You are,” he says without resistance. “You are my weakness.”

She bites her lip. “Then...why would you send me out alone? Why won’t you come with me? We don’t even have to go back to Takodana, we could just go somewhere, just the two of us, just...I can’t be alone again.” Her voice cracks, and he feels a rush of affection for his omega.

“You’re not alone.” His tone is soft and reassuring, and he can smell her calm at his words.

Then she says something that surprises him. “Neither are you.”

He stares at her, heart thumping against his chest. She only reaches out for him, his sweet, perfect omega, and he takes her hand without thinking. 

The knock on the door makes both of them jolt, the sound echoing in the shipping unit. Cursing, Ben gets to his feet and yanks open the door. 

It’s Mitaka, the omega wincing upon seeing the alpha’s face. “Alpha Ren, the Alpha Prime would like to see you...at once.”

Snoke. How did the prime know when Rey’s heat would end?

_ He could be watching. He could’ve had spies reporting. Or he could’ve not even known and just wanted to see me. _

Kylo schools his features into something like calm and nods. “Very well.” He closes the door and goes back to Rey, who’s watching him with fearful eyes.

“I have to go,” he says gently. “But I’ll be back soon.” He licks his lips, having difficulty saying what he needs to say next. “Don’t leave this time...please.”

She looks up at him and nods slowly. “I won’t.”

He sighs in relief and kisses her forehead. “I’ll be back soon.” 

.

The walk to Snoke’s feels a thousand times longer than normal. He walks slowly and unsteadily, trying not to let the others smell his fear and trepidation. 

What could Snoke want with him? Is this some ploy to humble Kylo, to remind him that no matter how powerful he feels, he will always be at the beck and call of Snoke?

_ Not for long. _

The old man is sitting in his usual seat when Kylo comes to him. He bows his head respectfully, hands clasped before him to prove he has nothing to hide. 

“I hear your omega was in heat,” Snoke says expectantly.

“She was.”

“And you saw her through it, I presume?”

His jaw clenches. “Yes.” 

“But you haven’t mated her yet.”

“No.”

“Good. The full moon is tonight; I want you to bring her to the meeting hall and mate her before the other alphas.”

Kylo feels his stomach twist. “Tonight?”

“In an hour.”

Kylo licks his lips. “Alright.”

Snoke peers at him. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you, my boy?”

“No, of course not,” Kylo says at once. 

Snoke’s voice settles into an oily attempt at soothing. “It’s natural that you should come to care for the omega. You helped her through her heat, and now you are to mate her. Your misgivings are understandable...but to act on them is a sign of weakness. If you cannot mate her, I will give her to an alpha who can.”

“She is mine,” Kylo growls. “I’ll kill anyone else who touches her.”

Snoke nods in approval, settling back in his seat. “Good. You may go.”

Kylo walks away, hands balled in tight fists; as soon as he is alone, he raises shaking hands to his eyes.

_ What have I done? _


	10. rolling in on a burning tire

“I’ll be right back,” he’d said, and then she hadn’t seen him again for an hour. 

She wonders if it has something to do with her. She wonders if she somehow got Kylo--Ben--whatever--in trouble. She’s not sure how, considering she’s been holed up in here with him for the last few days, but there’s so much she doesn’t know.

She paces up and down the small unit, and when her legs are tired, she sits in their nest and chews her nails. 

“Where are you?” she asks aloud once.

She’d meant it, when she said they could go someplace, just the two of them. It had surprised her to say it, but it had surprised her even more to realize she was serious. She thinks fleetingly of her cabin in Niima Outpost, of curling up at night in Kylo’s arms and nuzzling him whenever one or both of them come home from a long day. They’d find a way to live, she’s sure of it, and when the time is right, she would ask him to mate her.

But why would he leave his pack for her? He belongs here, he has a community of people who care about him...or who would have his back, at the very least, if it came down to it. What does Rey have? Some new acquaintances she knows nothing about...and Ben.

Kylo.

Ben.

Kylo?

Ben?

The door screeches open, interrupting her musings. It’s him, whatever his name is, and she leaps to her feet to greet him.

Only, something is off. She can tell from the guarded expression on his face, the rigid way he holds himself.

“Come with me,” he says softly, holding out his hand. 

“Where are we going?” she asks, lingering inside the unit. 

“Just come with me,” he says, softer. 

She hesitates, but what would be gained by refusing him? He could have other alphas take her wherever it is he means to take her.  _ Maybe he’s letting me escape. _

But something about the look on his face tells her that that’s not the case. 

Slowly, she follows him outside.

The full moon is shining overhead, round and white and beautiful. Rey can hear the sound of other people on the base, men and women calling to each other and even laughing. She tunes them out, focusing on the long walk ahead of her. 

He takes her over a worn walkway and towards a great warehouse. It’s empty, save for a few guards who only nod at the alpha, but Rey can see rows and rows of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. So this must be Snoke’s fleet. 

He takes her up a set of stairs, beyond which is a room...and from the other side of that door, Rey can smell a whole  _ gathering _ of alphas. 

“You don’t have to do this,” she says quietly. 

His scent, carefully controlled before, slips into something like fear.

“I feel the conflict in you,” she insists, stopping on the landing. “It’s tearing you apart.” When he doesn’t look at her, she says his name. “ _ Ben. _ ”

He finally turns to look at her, his eyes wide and breath coming hard. He looks so, so afraid, and despite her own fear, Rey just wants to comfort him.

“We can leave,” she pleads. “Just the two of us. Alpha and omega...the way it was supposed to be, right?”

His eyes flicker. “Rey,” he says quietly. “It’s too...it’s too late for that now.” His face settles in a stone mask. “Come,” he says, and some instinct in Rey makes her stumble forward.

_ Bloody alphas, _ she thinks angrily just as he opens the door. 

The room is big and expansive, and for some reason, painted red. Rey wonders if it was like that before civilization fell, or if this was a conscious decision on behalf of the First Order. Sitting across the room from her is an old alpha in a shimmering gold robe--not exactly what she thought the Alpha Prime of a pack might wear, but what does she know about the old ways?

Flanking him are eight alphas, four on each side. All of them wear red, too, and Rey wonders if perhaps that is the official color of the First Order. Either way, she thinks they look stupid.

“Well done, my good and faithful apprentice!” the old man crows in a raspy voice that sets Rey’s teeth on edge. She lets Ben guide her forcefully into the room, the door clanging shut behind them. 

“My faith in you is restored,” the old man continues. He smiles at Rey as she draws nearer. “Young Rey. Welcome.” When she doesn’t say anything, he goes on, “Come closer, child.” 

She doesn’t come closer, despite the omega instinct in her telling her to obey the alpha. 

“So much strength,” he observes. “I warned my young apprentice that he would have no idea the power an unmated omega would hold over him, and it seems you are especially willful for an omega. But not to worry; we’ll tame you soon enough.” He leans forward. “ _ Closer, I said _ .”

Unbidden, Rey moves forward, her body responding to the hypnotic quality of his voice. She’d heard stories about alphas with the ability to manipulate anyone, but she hadn’t really believed them...not until now.

“You underestimate Ben Solo,” she declares even as her feet carry her forward. “And me. It will be your downfall.”

Snoke’s face is mottled and scarred, she can see now. These aren’t mere battle wounds, either; these look deeper. Chemical. Was he in the States when the bomb went off? Was he one of those affected by it? 

“Oh,” he whispers now, a look of mock-fear on his face. “Have you seen something? A weakness in my apprentice? Is that why you gave yourself to him?” He laughs, a dry, hard sound that makes her flinch. “Young fool. It was  _ I _ who told him not to mate you. I stoked Ren’s conflicted soul. I knew he was not strong enough to hide it from you. And you were not wise enough to resist the bait. And now,” he says, and suddenly she’s standing in front of him, flinching as he cups her cheek with one giant paw, “you will get on your hands and knees while he mates you in front of the elders.”

“No,” she growls.

“Yes.” He pushes her roughly onto the ground; she pulls her hunting knife out of her boot, brandishing it at him. The elders all react at once, but Snoke only holds up a hand and laughs.

“Ooh! And still that fiery spit of hope!” The prime settles back in his chair. “Not for long, omega.”

Ben is on her before she can move; he plucks the knife from her hands and whispers, “Just follow my lead.”

She hesitates, gripping his arms. His heart hammers against her back.

“My worthy apprentice,” Snoke says, voice rising in excitement. “Where there was conflict, I now sense resolve. Where there was weakness, strength. Complete the mating ritual and become the alpha you were born to be.”

“I know what I have to do,” Ben says, his voice calm despite his thundering heart.

“Ben,” she whispers, but Snoke hears it and laughs.

“You think you can stop him? Pathetic child. I cannot be betrayed! I cannot be beaten. I know his mind. I know his every intent. I know--” 

But something cuts him off, and when he looks down, it’s to see a knife sticking out of his heart.

Her knife.

Rey lurches forward from the loose cage of Ben’s arms, wrenching the knife from Snoke’s heart just as he slumps in his seat, eyes wide and glassy. She turns to Ben, who’s pulling a knife out of his own boot; they nod, back to back as the elders converge on them.

The elders do not have weapons of their own; Rey’s guess is they’re forbidden in the same room as the prime. It makes it easier when she and Ben use their own blades to fend off the eight elders. She’s good with her fists, always having been scrappy, and her feet, too; when she grips Ben’s hip, he leans forward, allowing her to lean back on him and use him for leverage to kick back two of the elders.

“Omega!” they howl, gnashing their teeth, but she is immune to their barking commands, the authoritative scent they try to flood her with. She can only smell Ben, his anger and fear and anguish, and it drives her to keep fighting. She takes down one alpha and then another, but there are still three more on her, and she gets separated from Ben in the fray. She can sense his distress at being separated from her, and she’d like to get closer to him, but the alphas know that and are using it to their advantage.

“No mate to protect you over here,” one of them sneers, dancing forward; she whirls, swinging her blade, and he dances out of her reach. “I don’t care if you smell like Ren, I’ll mate you and put my pups in your slick omega cun--”

She jams her knife into his throat, taking a sadistic sort of pleasure in watching his eyes widen and the blood bubble at his lips. 

One of the other alphas grabs her from behind; she uses the new position to kick his compatriot, who falls over, clutching his chest. Then she swings her legs so hard toward the ground that the one behind her flips over her shoulder, sprawling on the ground; she sinks her knife into the neck of the kicked alpha and then yanks it out, crawling for the other alpha and stabbing him in the chest before he can mobilize.

She stands up in time to catch one as he flies towards her; he doesn’t see the flash of steel until it’s too late, and then he’s joining his friends on the ground. 

She turns around to find Ben and sees that he’s dealing with the last alpha...who has him in a headlock. 

“Ben!” she shouts, and when he looks at her, she drops her knife on the ground, pushing it to slide across the floor. His foot catches it, flipping it up so his hand can catch it, and before the other alpha can realize what’s going on, Ben has stabbed him in the eye.

The other alpha sinks to the ground, and then it’s just Ben and Rey.

“Let’s go,” she urges. “We can take one of the cars from downstairs and go east, or north, or south, or...anywhere, really, just let’s get out of here.”

But Ben isn’t looking at her.

He’s staring at Snoke, who looks no less imposing in death than he had in life. 

“Ben?”

“It’s time to let old things die,” he says, his voice ragged. “Let it all die. Rey.” He holds out his hand. “I want you to join me. We can rule together and bring a new order to the world.”

Her heart sinks. “Don’t do this, Ben,” she whispers. “Please don’t go this way.”

“No, no, you’re still holding on!” he roars, sounding more afraid than angry. “Let go!”

Tears blur her vision, making her eyes burn. 

He seems to collect himself. “Rey. You’re right. I don’t know much about the old ways...but I think there is some merit to them, just as I think there is merit to the argument that we are more than our biology. I think there’s a compromise, and I think it’s something we can find together...as mates, and as rulers of the First Order.” He holds out his hand again. “Join me.” When she doesn’t say or do anything, he moves closer, his hand trembling. “Please,” he whispers, his eyes imploring.

She shakes her head slowly. “I can’t,” she says hoarsely. “I just...I can’t, Ben. Let me go. Let me go back to my friends and away from this place. It’s not for me.”

She can see the hurt in his eyes, and it’s almost enough to make her recant...but not quite. 

His hand drops slowly. “Fine.” His voice is quiet and harsh, as if he’s on the verge of screaming but won’t let himself. “If that’s what you want.”

She nods. “It is.”

He takes a step back. “Take one of the cars. Leave. Get as far away from here as you can.”

She nods, stumbling for the door. 

She doesn’t look back.


	11. you're going to set my house on fire just to show me you were there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is
> 
> a) later than normal
> 
> b) short af
> 
> I've been slammed with work things but I'll try to update soon!

When Hux finds him, he’s standing and staring at Snoke’s body.

_ She left.  _

_ She left. _

_ She left. _

“What happened?” Hux asks now, looking around at the carnage in disbelief.

“I challenged Snoke for the primacy. I won. Then the elders challenged me and I defeated all of them in turn.” Kylo turns to fix Hux with a cold look. “They were weak. Old. Unfit to rule the pack.”

Hux gapes at him. “Our leader is  _ dead _ \--”

Kylo growls, baring his teeth. “Your leader is standing right in front of you.” When Hux doesn’t immediately submit, he pounces, bowling over the other alpha. Hux goes without a fight, stretching out his neck. 

“Long live the Alpha Prime,” he whispers.

It’s good enough for Kylo, who stands up. “Gather the others. I want to make an announcement.”

“Yes...Alpha Prime.”

_ Alpha Prime. _ It sounds good.

So why does it feel so empty?

.

Hux gathers the pack in the meeting hall. Kylo leaves the dead bodies so everyone can see and know: 

_ This is what happens when you go up against Kylo Ren. _

Alphas, betas, and omegas watch him silently, the air ripe with fear. He likes their fear. 

“I challenged Snoke for the primacy,” he says once everyone is gathered. “I know these things ought to be done before the pack, but it happened suddenly in the moment. He did not treat me like the alpha I am. He treated me like his bitch.”

The others murmur at this. They all know how Snoke can be, especially with those closest to him...but to treat an alpha like a bitch is a grave insult, even for an alpha prime. 

“So I challenged him for the primacy. He was old and weak, and died with my first blow.”

More murmurs at that, for no prime should fall so easily. Had he always been that weak? Have they been ruled by a frail old man all this time?

He raises a hand, silencing them. “When he fell, the elders challenged me. I fought and killed them, too.” He points to the dead bodies on the ground. “This is what happens to those who challenge me. So I ask you now: does anyone else feel like challenging me?”

The room is quiet for a long, pregnant moment. No one speaks or moves or so much as blinks an eye...not until Phasma comes forward. “Long live the Alpha Prime.”

The others take up the call at once. “Long live the Alpha Prime!”

Kylo nods in cold satisfaction. 


	12. well i was raised up like a snake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toldja it wouldn't be a long wait :)

_ Five Months Later _

.

“Dad says that in other places in the world, it’s only light during awake hours, and dark during asleep hours.”

“That’s what I hear, too.” In truth, Rey doesn’t remember other places in the world. Just Alaska, where half the year is spent in darkness and the other half is spent in light. 

It’s the light part of the year now, where there are only a few hours of darkness, and even the darkness is not very dark. It’s only early dawn, but already the sun has been up for hours. It’s a clear day, the kind where you can see for miles around. Snow capped mountains rise over the horizon, and in their shadow, the ruins of towns and streets and places that were once full of life.

Life is starting to return to the area, though. Anchorage was once the biggest city in Alaska, or so they tell her. The cities were the first to fall; they were too cramped, too full of other people. Neighbor turned on neighbor until everyone fled. Now that time has passed and the savagery of the early days has mostly died down, people have started to return, sniffing around for signs of others who want to go back to the civilized days.

Most of them end up at the fort. It was a military fort back in the day, and when the world fell, it was one of the last refuges. A senator from the continental states flew to the base with her family ahead of the bomb, knowing what was coming and knowing it was more important to flee than to sit around DC bickering with the other alphas. When the world fell, she and her family and those close to them were safe, protected by Fort Richardson’s walls and arms. Even after the United States was no more and most of the soldiers disbanded, the senator and her family remained.

Until her son met an alpha named Snoke and left the fort to join his pack, where he became known as Kylo Ren.

It’s a little known story, and one that had taken weeks for Han and Leia to tell her. Even now, after all these years, the grief over losing their son to the very evil they’d sought to defeat before the war has not ebbed. 

_ I should have fought harder, _ Rey thinks whenever she thinks of Ben.  _ I should have begged him to come with me. I should have let him mate me if it meant bringing him home. _

Han and Leia know what transpired on the First Order base--or near enough. 

“Did he,” Leia had begun the first time Rey had spoken of it. “Did he...force you?”

“No,” Rey had said, and it had hurt her so much to think that Leia would wonder that of her own child. 

“He was always unpredictable,” the general had sighed. “We only had so many blockers when the world fell. We tried to stretch them out towards the end, you know, so he wouldn’t have to quit cold turkey, but it took a toll on him. And Snoke was always there, waiting. He convinced Ben to stop taking his blockers altogether, and Ben’s hormones were so...out of order…we lost him.”

And now he’s the Alpha Prime of the First Order, the largest pack in the territory and the biggest threat to the New State.

Rey swallows, trying to push thoughts of Ben out of her head--for all the good that does her. She’s thought about him every day for the last four months, wondering what he’s up to and if she’ll ever see him again. 

Several times on the drive to Takodana, she’d almost turned around. What they’d had, for as brief a time as they’d had it, was unlike anything Rey has ever experienced before. She’d felt...whole. Completed. 

And then he’d asked her to rule the pack with him and that wholeness had shattered.

_ Why wasn’t I enough? _

But she understands why. The pack is his family, his life. There are hundreds of them, and only one of Rey. And there are other omegas in the world. He can replace her.

_ But can I ever replace him? _

Baby nudges her, jolting her out of her thoughts. “You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry.” She forces a smile at the boy, who’s eyeing her suspiciously. “Just...thinking.”

“You’re always  _ thinking. _ About Kylo Ren, I bet.”

She flushes. “How did you hear about that, anyway?”

“I have ears. I’m a kid, not a coma patient.” He pauses. “Dad said...you did that thing that alphas and omegas do.”

She jerks her head to look at him. “Did he tell you what...thing that was?”

“No.” Baby sounds dejected. “Just that it’s a special thing only alphas and omegas can do. Why they’re supposed to go together.” He hesitates. “Did Kylo Ren...was he...mean to you?”

Now it’s her turn to hesitate. “If I tell you the truth, will you promise not to tell anybody?”

“Yes,” he says eagerly. As the only child on the base, no one ever tells him things. It’s part of why he and Rey get along so well; she treats him like her equal.

She takes a deep breath. “He wasn’t mean to me. He was...really wonderful to me, actually. I could see he was mean to other people, but with me, he was...I don’t know...gentle. Sweet.” She takes another deep breath. “He asked me to stay with him. As his mate. And rule the pack together. But I said no. He still helped me escape...though I don’t think he ever wants to see me again.”

Baby considers this. Then, after a long moment, he slips his hand into Rey’s. 

She squeezes his hand and blinks back tears. When she’s calmed at last, she swallows and asks, “Hey, want to help me work on the radio?”

Baby perks up. “Can I?”

“Sure.”

They all have responsibilities at the fort. Most people are soldiers or foragers, some work in the kitchens while others work in the infirmary, but Rey is the only person in the fort to work on the radio. The inhabitants of the fort have tried to send out radio broadcasts for years now, but no one has ever responded. They’ve been working on lengthening the radio waves, but no one had had enough knowledge to make that happen.

Not until Rey came along.

The former scavenger has taken apart enough radios to have an idea of how they work. It’s different on a bigger scale, of course, but she thinks she’s making progress. Whenever the foraging parties go out, she gives them lists of things to look for and bring back, instructions on checking the radio towers for a signal.

“Of course,” she says to the general every time, “it would be easier if I was allowed to go do it myself.”

But the general won’t let her. 

“You’re an unmated omega with the ability to have children,” she’d said when Rey had protested. “If the wrong people, the wrong  _ alphas, _ come across you, we can’t guarantee your safety.”

“I’m not asking you to guarantee my safety,” Rey had protested, but the general had been firm: Rey was not to leave the fort. Instead, Rey has to give her lists to Finn and Poe and let  _ them _ find the parts she needs and check the radio towers.

It still rankles her that Finn is allowed to go out on raids and she is not. Sure, Finn can’t have children, so he’s less of a commodity, but he’s still an unmated omega, even if Rey is sure Poe Dameron would like to change that. They can’t guarantee Finn’s safety, either, but he’s still allowed to go out with strangers, with  _ alphas, _ and forage for food and supplies in unmarked territory while Rey has to stay behind the fort’s walls and babysit.

She tries not to let it get to her...but it does. General Organa fought so hard to prove that people were more than their designations, but what could be more stereotypical than an omega being forced to raise a child and stay hidden behind high walls at the bidding of alphas claiming to protect her? 

“We should run away,” she grumbles to Baby as they work on the radio--or rather, she works, and Baby keeps her company.

“Running away sucks,” he declares. “It’s scary and you’re always tired.”

“Don’t you miss the adventure? Sleeping outside, going to the bathroom wherever you want?”

“That part was pretty good,” he admits. “But not as good as getting fed three times a day and having your own bed.”

She has to give him that, she supposes. 

“What if you mated an alpha?” he asks her, and she drops her pair of pliers in shock.

“ _ What? _ ”

“If you mated an alpha, then you could leave the fort,” he says logically. “You could do the things you can’t do now.”

And...he’s right, but…

“It’s not as easy as that,” she says gently, picking up her pliers. “Mating is...it’s very special. It can’t be with just anyone.”

“Yes it can.” His face is stubborn. “My dad mated my mom even though they weren’t in love.”

“He did that to protect her.”

“He could protect you, too.”

She closes her eyes. “Baby…”

“He could! Then you could go out foraging.”

He’s right, and for a fleeting moment, Rey is tempted. But she already barely tolerates Poe, and if she fought Ben, who she’d genuinely been attracted to, how would she ever let Poe near her? Besides, she’s certain that he wants to mate Finn, and how much would that complicate things?

_ And if we mate, there’s a higher likelihood I’ll get pregnant. _

Rey truthfully hasn’t given much thought to having children because she’d never thought she’d let an alpha get close enough to her to try, and even then, getting pregnant is nearly impossible these days. But Poe has already proven himself to be virile, and the chance of pregnancy always increases with mated pairs. 

_ I wonder if that’s why Ben’s seed didn’t take. _

She’d wondered about it in the days after leaving the First Order base. Having unprotected sex in heat used to be a surefire way of conceiving, but it’s so different these days. She’d gotten her period, and though she still has time, she can already feel the symptoms of pre-heat setting in.

There hasn’t been much to discuss about it. There are other unmated omegas in the fort, and those who don’t want to enlist a partner to help them through it have taken solace in a bunker specially repurposed for this exact reason. Padded walls not only block noise, but smell, so unmated alphas won’t go into rut if they get too close to the bunker. Not that anyone would get too close by chance; the bunker is underground and deep within the fort, so deep that you’d have to go out of your way to reach it. 

There will be guards, which embarrasses Rey to no end, but the general had insisted that every omega in heat get the same protection. Beta and omegas will take turns patrolling the corridor and making sure no one gets in to see the omega in heat. They have weapons, too, and only a handful of people have access to the keys to the bunker. Once a day, a guard will bring the omega food and drink and anything else they ask for, and when the heat is over the omega will simply shower off and go back to their life.

“It’s not that bad,” Finn had assured Rey after his last heat just a couple months ago. “The infirmary can give you something to make you sleep through most of it. Honestly, it’s kind of a blur, it happened so quickly.”

Rey wants to believe him, but she also knows that he’s never had an alpha get him through heat before, and she...has. Getting through her heat alone in her cabin had never been pleasant before, but the thought of going through that again after having an alpha help her, an alpha like  _ Ben _ …

But that’s just it. She wants an alpha like Ben...and there are no alphas like Ben. 

So she’ll just have to settle for the heat bunker. 

She’s startled from her musings by the door opening.

“Rey? Baby?”

It’s Rose, a tiny alpha that Rey has grown close to. She’d tried courting Finn when he and Rey had first arrived, but he just hadn’t felt the same way. Privately, Rey thinks he’s a bit of an idiot for turning her down, and if she wasn’t still thinking about Ben, she might even ask the other woman to help her through her heat. 

But Rose is a friend, and one Rey is glad to have when she’s cooped up in the fort like this.

The alpha smiles at them now. “The foraging party’s been spotted coming down the road.”

“Dad?!” Baby yelps, hopping off his stool. 

Rey tosses aside her work, grateful for the distraction. She and Rose follow Baby outside, where the guards open the gates for the foraging party.

The foraging parties always go on foot; gas is a precious commodity, and not one the New State can afford to waste on volunteers wandering the wilderness. Some of the volunteers don’t always return, and a couple of entire parties have disappeared, but it’s a risk everyone takes when they leave the safety of the fort. 

Baby runs to greet his father, who catches him and swings him up in the air. Rey smiles and hugs Finn.

“How was it?”

“It was alright. The usual.” He winces, realizing Rey doesn’t know “the usual”. “It was uneventful. I think we found some more parts for your radio.”

She opens her mouth to thank him when Poe gets up in her face, an irritatingly alpha habit of his. “What happened to my son’s face?”

“What?” she asks, more startled than anything, before her eyes flicker to Baby and she sees the scrape on his chin. Not a big deal, if you ask her, but she has a feeling Poe won’t want to hear that. “Oh, that. He tripped and fell.”

“He  _ tripped _ and  _ fell _ ?” Poe huffs. “I asked you to look after him.”

“And I did,” she says carefully. “It was an accident.”

“An accident?”

“Dad,” Baby mumbles.

“Poe,” Finn says quietly.

“He could’ve been seriously hurt!”

“It’s a scrape.” Her impatience is starting to creep into her voice. “I’m sorry, but kids trip.”

“If you were keeping a better eye on him--”

“So what, he’s not supposed to run?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“You are a difficult man,” she says through a forced smile. 

He opens his mouth to argue, but Rose pushes herself in between him and Rey, drawing herself up to her fullest (which really isn’t saying much, but Rey appreciates the gesture nonetheless). 

“How was the foraging?” she asks pointedly. 

Poe looks taken aback, but the distraction seems to work, because Finn jumps in with, “We picked up some First Order deserters.”

Rey and Rose whip their heads to look at him. 

“You  _ what? _ ”

Finn waves over a tall and pretty alpha. There are others with her, alphas, betas, and omegas, but this woman seems to be their speaker. Beside her, Rey can smell Rose giving off some accidental pheromones.

“This is Jannah,” Finn says. “Jannah, this is Rey, Rose, and Baby.”

“Hi,” says Jannah, looking at them uncertainly. 

“Go on,” Finn encourages her. “Tell them what you told me.”

She takes a deep breath. “The First Order has...changed. A lot. I’ll admit, at first I thought it was for the better--Kylo Ren is a lot younger than Snoke, and stronger and bolder.”

Rey’s heart thumps in her chest. 

“But the other alphas disagree.” Jannah shifts uncomfortably. “At least three of them were planning separate mutinies.”

“New leadership of a pack always presents challengers.” Rose’s face is dark with memory. “Challengers think the new prime is unstable or inexperienced, so they try to assert themselves.”

“Challenging the prime is one thing,” Jannah grants. “But for multiple people to plan to overthrow him…”

Rey’s stomach turns. “Is that why you left?”

Jannah nods. “We’ve seen it happen with other packs--it’s part of why the First Order is so big. Other packs get fractured from too much infighting, and they break off into smaller packs, and some of them get absorbed into bigger packs. Snoke had a way of making the smaller packs come to him.”

“And Kylo Ren has a way of making those smaller packs leave,” Poe scoffs.

Rey clenches her fists. “Does he know about this?”

Jannah looks at her in surprise. “The mutinies? Well, I don’t know. I’m sure he knows the risks associated with his role, but I’m also sure he’d make an example if he knew for certain.”

“The general will want to meet you,” Rose says, and the others move off in the direction of the general’s office. Rey, however, stands stock-still, staring out the now-closed gate.

Baby sidles up beside her, slipping his hand into hers. “Rey? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I’m...scared.”

“For Kylo Ren?”

She nods. “Yeah. What if...what if they kill him?”

Baby is quiet for so long that she knows he’s trying not to say what he’s thinking.

_ Even a little kid knows Ben is about to become lunch for whichever alpha mutinies first. _

“It’s a few hours’ drive to the First Order base,” he says slowly, surprising her. “And your heat is coming soon...so you’d need to take a car.”

She stares at him. “What?”

“A car,” he says slowly, as if talking to an even smaller child. “It’s the fastest way to get to the First Order base. Maybe you can beat your heat.”

She just keeps staring at him.

He rolls his eyes. “Meet me in the car bank at midnight--the sun should be down or close to it by then.”

“Baby, are you...trying to bust me out?”

“What? Like you weren’t gonna do it anyway?” he taunts. “Midnight, Rey.” And with that, he walks off, leaving Rey to wonder what in the hell she’s about to do.


	13. you were raised to leave me bait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: there is a pretty violent scene in this chapter! scroll to the bottom for spoilers

Kylo Ren stands on the roof of the warehouse and wonders what in the hell he’s about to do. 

He’d known from the start that there would be other alphas wanting to contest his primacy, and it hadn’t really surprised him to learn about Hux. Hux has always resented Kylo for being the son Snoke never had, and it makes sense that he’d want to challenge Kylo’s place as prime. Not that anything will come of it; Hux has all the machismo of an old turnip, and anyone encouraging his mutiny likely has plans to turn traitor themselves if and when Hux becomes prime. 

But if Hux really thinks he can challenge Kylo, then others will, too--and there may be others who are stronger and more capable of defeating him than Hux. He hadn’t held back with Snoke or the elders...so why should others hold back with him?

_ They will kill me if they get the chance. _

He knows it, yet he feels oddly calm about it. Death doesn’t frighten him as much as it once did. One of Snoke’s many lessons.

_ But you were afraid under Snoke. You didn’t start to feel this way until Rey left. _

He thinks about the omega more than he’d care to. Even now, even six months later, he can still smell her. 

_ Six months. _

She’d be going into heat right about now, and it pains him to think of her going through it alone...or worse, with another alpha. A possessive growl rises up in him, his hands balling into fists at the thought of another alpha coupling with her. They’d never be able to take care of her like Kylo can, never give her what she wants. What she  _ needs. _ What she  _ needs _ is Kylo.

And he needs her.

He’d tried to deny the truth of that for a long time after she left...but he could only deny it for so long. In the short time they’d been together, he’d never felt surer of himself or more at peace in his entire life. 

And as soon as she’d left, he’d never felt  _ less _ sure or at peace. 

He doesn’t understand how one omega could flip his life upside down with such ease, but she did. He was ready to give her everything...but she hadn’t wanted anything. 

_ Did she really even want me to come with her? Or was that just a ploy to get away from the base? Did I mean anything to her, or was I just a means to an end? _

She’d been so much more than that for him. He’s sure that if she was by his side, they could keep this pack in line and grow and defeat the New State he keeps hearing about. They could make the territory civilized again. 

But without her, he’s lost. 

Alphas needing omegas was one of the only tenets of the old ways that he’d rejected. He’d gotten along his entire life without an omega. Even his mother, a well-known alpha, hadn’t needed an omega. But Rey is everything he’d never known he needed. She smooths out his rough edges and casts a light over the darkness in him. What is he without her?

_ Lost and alone. _

He can smell the omega behind him. He pushes away all thoughts of Rey and the life they might have led as he cocks his head, barely acknowledging Mitaka’s presence.

“Alpha Prime,” the omega says in a trembling voice. “The pack is waiting.”

Kylo turns and heads for the stairwell, Mitaka leaping aside to let him pass. He heads down the steps and into the meeting hall, where half a year ago, he’d killed Snoke and the elders with Rey at his back. He wishes he felt half as invincible now as he did then.

The rest of the pack is gathered in the hall, waiting and watching. Their numbers are smaller, one of the many points he needs to address tonight. One of his lieutenants had deserted with a handful of others; not many, but enough to make the others talk.

He decides not to beat around the bush.

“Some of our pack abandoned us,” he says bluntly, looking at his subjects. Every time he meets their eyes, they lower their own out of respect. 

Good.

“There are other packs out there. Other factions. I know some of you are curious. I know some of you dislike the way things are done here.”

Abashed silence. 

“The First Order is the biggest pack in the territory; it is the biggest pack that we know of. How many other packs have we taken down and absorbed? How many of you came to us because your own primes were weak and inefficient?” He shakes his head. “The First Order offers you shelter, food, and protection. It offers you the freedom to be who you were meant to be. What can those other packs give you?”

“The question, Alpha Prime,” Hux interrupts, barrelling forward, “is what can  _ you _ give us?”

The room shivers in excitement, all eyes on the two alphas.

_ Hux, you fucking moron. _ Kylo makes no move to hide his contempt. “Is there a reason for this interruption, Hux?”

“There is a reason.” Hux visibly steels himself. “You are unfit to rule. I challenge you for the primacy.”

The room breaks out in murmurs, the omegas and betas in the back craning to see over the alphas in the front. Kylo sees them out of the corner of his eye, but he tries not to break his gaze with Hux. Staring down another alpha is the most basic assertion of dominance, and if Hux can’t even hold his gaze, he won’t be able to hold his own in a fight.

But Hux stands his ground, licking his lips and balling his hands into fists but staring back nonetheless.

Finally, Kylo says in a soft voice, so soft the others have to strain to hear him, “You have that right. But remember what happened last time I fought someone for the primacy.”

“I remember our leader dying with no other witnesses but you,” Hux snaps. “There will be witnesses when I defeat you.”

“We’ll see,” Kylo says, and then lunges forward.

It’s not a wise move, he knows, but he doesn’t trust Hux to wait until a date and time for a challenge to be set. Besides, this gives him the element of surprise. Sure, it’s not honorable, but when has Kylo ever been honorable?

Hux is clearly not expecting the attack; Kylo bowls him over easily, pinning the other alpha to the floor and sinking his teeth into the flesh of Hux’s neck. Hux yelps, flailing in Kylo’s grip. It’s savage and animalistic, and Kylo can feel a little of himself slipping away as he sinks his teeth in deeper, but there’s a sick satisfaction when he snaps his jaws together and tears a chunk of hot, bloody muscle from Hux’s neck.

He can hear the gasps and shouts even over the roaring of his blood in his ears as he lifts his head, spitting out the hunk of flesh. 

It’s as if all the anger and fear from the last few months--the last few  _ years, _ if truth be told--have come to a head. Killing Snoke and the elders wasn’t the release he wanted, but this, using his hands and teeth and killing another alpha the way nature intended... _ this _ is the release he’s been yearning for. 

_ Snoke would be proud. _

Hux is still twitching, and Kylo bears down again, teeth tearing another chunk from Hux’s neck. There are screams and gags, but Kylo makes them endure it, because he is their prime, and his pleasure is theirs. 

By the time Hux goes limp, his eyes wide and unblinking, Kylo is covered in his blood. He draws his sleeve across his mouth, wiping.

“Now,” he says in a raspy voice, trying to hide the tremble of adrenaline. “If anyone else--”

But he doesn’t get to finish the thought, because something hits him in the back of the head and all fades to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ben kills Hux by tearing out his throat with his teeth. it's very bloody.


	14. i always

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so tbh this chapter is the reason this story exists. I was taking a nap, had a dream, and that dream became this fic. So I hope you enjoy!

Despite her every instinct telling her this is a bad idea, Rey does as Baby says and meets him in the car bank at midnight, just as the sun is starting to set.

Most of the fort is asleep, thick curtains hanging over the windows to block out the light. The only people who are awake are the guards and sentries, and there are few enough of them. It’s the nice thing about summer; it’s so bright all the time that they have little fear of an attack under the cover of darkness. 

Baby is leaning into the backseat of an SUV that might once have been silver when she approaches; he hops out with a grin. “I packed some of those gross nutrition bars and water. I also put in some blankets and extra clothes. And a knife, and a revolver with backup ammo.”

She blinks at him. “Baby, that’s...that’s really nice of you.” She hasn’t had a revolver since she left Niima Outpost; there hadn’t been a need in the fort. She hasn’t even had a knife, too well-guarded behind the walls of Fort Richardson to need protection. It’s dangerous out there...and for some reason, that thrills her.

He shrugs. “I figured you’d need it. I had to ask Dad about some of the heat stuff.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Children are naturally curious,” he says archly. “Don’t worry, he says I’m still too young for the sex talk, but he told me a little bit about what happens during heat. I got the blankets so you could nest, the clothes in case you wanted to change, gasoline for the car, and the food and water to keep you alive, obviously.”

She wants to cry, which she knows is her heat. She wants to hug him, too, but her skin is already growing sensitive, her own clothes irritating her, so she holds off. “You’re a good kid, you know that?”

“I know.” The proud look on his face fades. “Don’t let this be the last time I see you, okay?”

“Of course not.” She touches his cheek. “We’ll see each other again.”

“Promise?”

“I  _ promise. _ ”

His uncertainty fades, if even for a moment. “Okay. Good. I’m gonna go create a distraction. Wait five minutes and then drive for the south gate, okay?”

“What are you gonna--”

“Just trust me!” Already he’s dashing off, ready to raise hell.

Rey climbs into the driver’s seat, wincing. The cramps are starting up faster than she’d like them to, which means full heat is not far behind. The drive should keep her focused--but will it be enough?

She waits the instructed five minutes, counting in her head and trying not to think too hard about what she’s about to do. When she reaches five minutes, she starts the car and maneuvers out of the bank, following the drive to the south gate.

To her surprise and relief, the gate is wide open. She doesn’t look back, just rolls through.

Flicking on the lights, she presses down on the accelerator and roars towards the open road.

.

It’s a few hours from the fort to the First Order base. Rey follows a Rand McNally road map faded with age and use, squinting at the winding road that leads from Anchorage to Seward. She grows hotter with each passing mile, rolling down the windows and blasting the air conditioning while stripping down to her camisole, and even then she sweats through what’s left of her clothes.

She forces herself to focus on the road, trying not to think about the cramps taking hold of her belly or the slick pooling between her legs. Instead, she thinks of Ben.

_ Ben. _

She’s thought about him every day since they parted, and every day she’s tried to convince herself that he doesn’t mean anything, that she’d get over him.

_ But I never could. _

Hearing that his own pack was turning against him terrified her, and it’s the only thing making her soldier through the onset of her heat. Whatever happened between them, whatever  _ will _ happen between them, she can’t let him die.

It was always said that alphas protect omegas, and in return, omegas care for them. But Ben cared for her, and now it’s her turn to protect him.

.

It doesn’t occur to her until she’s following rusted signs for the shipyard that she has no idea how she’s going to save Ben. She doesn’t even know if he’s been mutinied against yet. If he hasn’t, that’s easy enough, she can just ask to be taken to him and go from there. 

But if he  _ has _ been mutinied against, will he still be alive? If he isn’t, how will she get to him? And how will she do it without arousing every unmated alpha in the vicinity?

To her surprise, there are people leaving the shipyard, about twenty men and women with bags on their backs. They raise their guns when they see Rey, tense, and she realizes that they’re just as afraid of her as she is of them.

She puts the car in park and holds up her hands to show they’re empty before sticking her head out the window. “What’s going on?” she calls out.

“Who are you?”

“I’m looking for someone.”

The people look at each other, and most of them lower their weapons. 

“You should look somewhere else. Half the pack’s gone.”

“Gone?” she repeats in surprise. 

“There was a mutiny. Five alphas are holding Kylo Ren hostage.”

“Hostage?” Her heart pounds against her chest. “Why?”

“Said he’s worth something to the New State. I don’t know.”

_ The General. _ He’s her son, and someone must have figured it out. They must be hoping to use him as a bargaining chip for...what? Weapons? Supplies? Or that most elusive of goods, gasoline?

_ As if the New State has much. _

“Where is he?” she asks. 

“One of the storage units. 2187,” an omega tells her. She doesn’t know what that means, but she’ll figure it out.

“Thank you. Will I be able to get in?”

A beta snorts. “Getting in is no problem; getting  _ out _ is the hard part. And speaking of, we’re in a hurry.”

Rey leans back into the car, putting it in drive and maneuvering around the herd of people leaving. They throw her curious looks, but she ignores them, focused on driving into the base. It looks so different in the daylight. Less imposing. The shipping container towers don’t seem to loom over her, the cranes look less menacing, and the whole place looks, well, smaller. 

Which is not to say it isn’t big, because it is, but it’s not the terrifying labyrinth she remembers. She’d been in heat then, too, but she’d been running  _ away _ from Ben, not towards him. 

Three guards with guns come running towards her. As sensitive as she is right now, her heat banging against the walls of her self-restraint, she can smell any alpha or omega in the vicinity...and she can’t smell them. 

_ Betas. Perfect. _

“I’m looking for Kylo Ren,” she says in her most authoritative voice, barking out the window so that they don’t get much closer. They probably can’t smell her anyway, as most betas can’t, but she  _ is _ in heat. “The General sent me to negotiate his release.”

The guards blink at her.

“Oh,” one of them says. “We didn’t...know anyone was coming.”

“So what, you think he’s being held hostage for shits and giggles?” She infuses her voice with as much disdain as she can. “Where’s 2187?”

They relax, apparently believing that if she knows the number of the storage unit, she must be legit. 

“Cell block AA-23,” one of them says, as if that means anything to her. “Turn right; it’ll be the third from the left.”

“Thank you.” She rolls up her window and follows the beta’s directions, unable to believe she’d gotten away with it. She drums her fingers nervously on the steering wheel, relieved to see that the cell block numbers are posted on each column. AA-19, AA-21, AA-23. She turns into the block, following the numbers until she gets to 2187. Trembling, she parks the car and turns off the ignition. 

She sits there for a long moment, shaking. It’s too easy. There are no guards out here, but surely they wouldn’t just leave their hostage, a powerful alpha prime like Ben, alone and unguarded here. And if they have, certainly someone is watching him.

Then again, the deserters  _ did _ say that half the pack had left. Perhaps they don’t have the resources to keep an eye on him 24/7. 

_ God I hope that’s it. _

Mind made up, she reaches for her knife and gets out of the car. The revolver will make too much noise and draw too much attention, if she needs it at all. She’s always fought better with a knife, anyway. 

Moving is hard when her body is cramping and her cunt can’t seem to stop producing slick; she staggers to the door, taking a few deep breaths before pulling the handle.

It opens, and the combined scent of multiple alphas hits her like a wall. She blinks in surprise, taking in the sight before her.

There are three alphas standing over a chair...and sitting in that chair is Ben, cut lip and bruised cheek. His hands are tied behind the chair, his ankles bound as well, but he struggles against them when he sees her, his eyes wide.

“Who are you?” one of the alphas demands, but Rey can pinpoint the exact moment he realizes she’s in heat.

Taking a gamble, she steps fully inside the shipping unit, closing the door behind her to trap her scent in the unit. All four alphas are staring at her, pupils contracting and scent glands pulsing. Their own scents are overwhelmingly wrong, but Ben’s scent, warm and reassuring, calms her. She can do this. She can. She just has to do it right.

_ “Omega,” _ one of the alphas growls in satisfaction. “You smell ripe for the picking.”

The other alphas growl.

“She’s mine,” one of them says, though Rey has never so much as laid eyes on this alpha before. 

“She’s  _ mine _ .”

“I’m the prime, she’s  _ mine. _ ”

“You’re not prime  _ yet _ .”

“Is that a threat?” the first alpha growls, and when the second doesn’t answer, he pounces at him, knocking him to his feet and rolling on the floor as they claw at one another. The third stumbles towards her, but the would-be prime barrels  _ him  _ over, too.

Rey walks slowly so as to evade notice, but she needn’t worry about that; her scent is driving them wild, and they’re all three slamming each other into the walls and hurling each other onto the floors. She moves to Ben, bending down to saw at the ropes tying him to the chair.

“Rey,” he says in a strained voice, but she shakes her head, glancing at the alphas. They still haven’t noticed her, so she stands up and works on the ropes at his wrists.

That’s when the first casualty comes; the prime takes the third alpha’s head in his hands and twists it with a sickening crack. He turns on the second alpha, who’s starting to back up and look as if he has second thoughts now.

“I’ve got it,” Ben says, and he takes the knife from her hands, sending a spike of arousal through her body. “Distract them. Go.”

His voice is like a pot of hot coffee, comforting and invigorating all at the same time. She obeys him without question, stumbling forward to the two alphas.

They both whip their heads to look at her, nostrils flaring. She has them in the palm of her hand, she just needs to give them that extra push…

“I’m so wet,” she whines, reaching under the waistband of her pants and touching herself. A fresh wave of slick trickles between her legs, and she scoops it up with her fingers, holding up her hand so the alphas can see. “I need a knot  _ so bad… _ ”

That does it. The second alpha makes a beeline for her, but the prime lets out an inhuman growl, slamming his competitor into the wall. It almost scares her, how animalistic they become. They aren’t men anymore, they’re beasts, using teeth and nails to incapacitate the other. Rey wobbles on her feet, knowing that if she doesn’t get relief soon, she’s going to turn into an animal herself. 

The prime wins once again with the same head twist from before. The second alpha’s body has barely hit the floor before he’s coming for Rey, hunger in his eyes. She stumbles back a step, afraid now.

And then Ben is moving past her, and before the prime can react, the knife has slashed across his throat, a spray of red filling the air before he falls to the floor to join his comrades.

Ben turns to look at her, eyes black. 

“Ben,” she whispers.

Somehow she bares herself from the waist down--she truly has no idea how--and then she’s on the floor, chanting a string of words she doesn’t even understand as Ben slides inside her. 

“It’s alright,” he murmurs, but he thrusts frantically inside her, smothering her face and neck in kisses. “It’s alright, I’ve got you, you’re safe.”

She wants to thank him. She wants to apologize for leaving. She wants to tell him she loves him.

Instead, she comes with a cry, clinging to him as his knot swells inside her.

They hold each other for a long moment, panting as the fever cools and they come back to their senses. 

“Hi,” she says at last.

“Hi.” He shifts to his elbows to look at her. His pupils are still contracted, but he doesn’t seem to be on the verge of rut the way he was a few moments ago. “What are you doing here?”

“I ran into some deserters who told me there was a mutiny. I was worried about you.”

His face softens. “You were?”

“Yes, of course.” She hesitates. “Do you...do you hate me?”

He stares at her for a moment before laughing. “My knot is inside you and you’re asking if I hate you?”

“Well,” she huffs defensively, “it could just be because I’m in heat--”

He nips her neck, silencing her. “Rey. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you left. Everything I’ve done since then has just been...hollow and meaningless. I don’t want to lose you again.”

Her heart leaps in her chest. “Then come with me,” she urges. 

He considers her. “Where?”

“Somewhere. Anywhere. I don’t care. Just the two of us.” She touches his cheek, not missing the way he winces when her finger brushes his bruise. “Please, Ben. I haven’t stopped thinking about you either, and I...I don’t want to leave without you again.” Tears spring to her eyes, and she wipes them away, embarrassed. “I don’t want to live a life without you. I want to be your mate.”

His breath hitches. “Rey, you’re...that’s the heat talking.”

“It’s not.” More frustrated tears spill from her eyes. “Please.  _ Please, _ Ben, I don’t want to be alone again.”

“You’re not alone.” He kisses her, and when she calms, he kisses the tears from her eyes and cheeks. 

When his knot finally goes down, he helps her back into her pants, her own limbs too heavy to be of much use. He’s so gentle with her, and Rey’s every instinct is to curl up against his chest and sleep. She leans heavily against him, and to her relief, he picks her up and makes for the door

“Okay,” he murmurs. “Let’s go.”


	15. always

Escaping the First Order base is almost laughably easy. Ben carries Rey out to the car, settling her in the back seat; she buries herself in a pile of blankets and clothes, her tired body sagging gratefully against the soft nest. He climbs into the driver’s seat and starts the car; he’ll need to fill up on gas soon, but that can wait until they’re far away from the base.

They hardly pass anyone on the way out, and those they do hardly look up. His captors haven’t told him anything, but it hadn’t been hard to know something was awry. He imagines there’s a lot of unrest; it’s one thing to challenge the prime, but to knock him out and hold him captive? That is, as Snoke would say, horrifically civilized. 

He’s pieced it together, hour after hour, terse word after terse word. His ways are not Snoke’s ways, and that scares the alphas who benefited most under Snoke. He had offered more protections for omegas, and the alphas hadn’t liked that. They’d liked being able to have their pick of the litter and terrorize the betas and omegas with their authority. 

_ You have too much of your father’s heart in you, _ Snoke had once said, and that is true, but he has too much of his mother’s heart in him, too. Senator Leia Organa never would have stood for the inequality of the pack, and neither did her son.

_ Would you be proud of me, Mom? _

They’ve been on the road for two miles before he realizes it. No one tried to stop him; there were no gunshots, no guards jumping in his way, no gates closing in his face. He just...left.

He glances in the rearview mirror at Rey, who’s sound asleep in her little nest. He rumbles in satisfaction, pleased to see her safe and comfortable and sated. It won’t last long; her heat will be on her in full force soon. He’ll have to find somewhere safe to get her through it, and then…

He doesn’t want to think about that part. The  _ and then. _

Had she meant what she said at the base? About being his mate? It’s what he wanted from the very beginning, but she hadn’t been ready. Can so much really have changed in six months?

_ Why not? _ He’d fallen in love with her after mere hours; why should six months be any less realistic than that? Where he’d feared losing her, perhaps the time apart had allowed the seedlings of affection to blossom. Why else would she have come all this way and risked her safety to help him? Why would she have gone into a room full of alphas in the throes of her heat when she knew a misstep could ruin her?

_ She loves me _ . 

They are a dyad, two halves of one whole, put on this planet to be together. 

It takes all of his self control not to pull off the road and wake her up with his realization. But some instinct urges him to keep driving and to let her sleep; they have all the time in the world together.

.

He drives them out to Chugach State park--not ideal for its proximity to both the First Order base and Anchorage, but it’s the best he can do. He finds the public cabins that he and his father and Chewie used to stay in in the early days, when it seemed like maybe a plane would come for them and tell them it was okay, the world had survived after all, and now it’s time to go back. He’d resented those foraging trips, as he’d resented almost everything back then.

_ I was filled with so much anger. I thought it was part of being an alpha, but I was just scared. Scared and alone.  _

_ You’re not alone. _

_ Neither are you. _

He gathers Rey in all her blankets and carries her into the cabin, settling her on the lower bunk of the bunk bed. She stirs, mumbling; he presses a kiss to her feverish head and goes back outside, bringing in the rest of their supplies, including the canister of gasoline; they’d coasted here on fumes, and even if someone were to find them and try to steal the car, they wouldn’t get very far.

Rey is sitting up in the bed when he closes the door behind him, her eyes dark and skin flushed. He sets down the gasoline, unable to take his eyes from hers. 

“How do you feel?”

“Ready,” she says in a low, hoarse voice, one that makes his knot rise. He’d knotted her only a few hours ago, but already his hunger is so intense he means to consume her. 

So he does.

.

Being inside her again is like coming home. 

He can’t stop touching her or staring at her, afraid that if he lets her go or looks away for even a moment, she’s going to slip away. It soothes him to see that she’s equally desperate for his touch, that she wraps her body around him like a clinging vine and murmurs, “I need you, I need you, I need you.”

They make love slowly, they fuck rough and hard, they fall asleep in each other’s arms and wake up utterly ravenous. The whole cabin smells like them, a heady combination of his scent and hers. 

He wakes up that night to find her up in the loft.

“Come here,” she urges. “It’s so much bigger than the bed.”

He does, bringing her blankets when she whines, and sees that she’s right; the loft is four times the size of the bunk bed. He takes her almost every way he can, enjoying the extra space. They roll around on the floor, first her on top, now him, hands grasping and nails biting until he slams his hips so hard into hers that she howls like a wild beast. 

“We should stay here forever,” she murmurs when they’re finally sated, sweat cooling on their skin as she curls her body against his. 

“We could,” he admits, sorely tempted. “But too many people know about this place.”

“They do?”

“I used to come here with my dad.”

She stills, clearly trying not to show undue interest but unable to help herself. “You did?”

“Yeah. Years ago. We went out on foraging hikes.”

She’s quiet for a moment. “I met your mother,” she says at last, soft as a butterfly’s wings. “When I went back to Takodana...they took me to the fort. To the New State.”

He tenses at the mention of his mother’s pipe dream…though less of a dream and more of a reality now, he supposes. The New State had been on his periphery for years, and it had only grown bigger and harder to ignore as time went on. It is now the single greatest threat to the First Order...or it was, when the First Order meant something. 

“I hated it,” she admits, and he relaxes. “I thought...I thought things would be different there. But everyone still treats me differently because I’m an omega. I wasn’t allowed to leave the fort, I wasn’t allowed to have any weapons. They said it was for my protection, but…”

“That’s what they always say,” he murmurs. “That it’s for your protection.” He rises up on his elbow. “You’re your own person, Rey. You’re one of the fiercest and strongest people I’ve ever met, too. You don’t need to be coddled and protected. And you don’t need a group of well-meaning but utterly idiotic authority figures telling you what to do and where you belong.”

She shivers; he wraps his body around hers, warming her against the early morning chill. 

When she falls asleep, he climbs down the ladder and puts on his clothes, heading out to the stream nearby. He rolls up his pants, wading out into the water and standing there for so long his feet grow numb in the cold water. When the fish grow accustomed to his presence, he bends down, slowly easing his hands in the water...and then snatches up a trout, hurling it onto dry land. The fish flails stupidly on the ground, its scales glimmering in the sunlight. He takes Rey’s knife out of his pocket and kneels down, holding the trout still with one hand and stabbing it in the head with the other.

“Quickest way to kill a fish,” his dad had said the first time he’d taken Ben fishing, even before they’d had to come to Alaska. Ben used to love fishing with his father, back before his father became too busy for him. 

“What if you don’t want to stab it?” Ben had asked skeptically. “Can’t you let it...drown on air?”

“You’d think, but some of these little guys can live for a few days on land, and we don’t have that long to wait. So, hit ‘em in the brain, and then you want to bleed ‘em out.”

He can still hear his father’s voice as he uses the hunting knife to skin the trout, hands operating more on muscle memory than anything. When the fish has been deboned, he sets it on a smooth rock and starts a fire in the firepit with twigs and leaves. While the trout cooks, Ben washes off his hands and the knife. 

He wonders what his father is doing now. If he’s still at the fort with Leia. If they’d made their marriage work despite the world falling to pieces all around them, despite the constant arguing and Han’s going off for weeks at a time without warning. Was it Han that had taken Rey to the New State? Or was it someone else?

When the meat is nice and charred, he carries the rock into the cabin and climbs up the ladder. Rey is just waking up, hurt in her eyes until she sees him; he barely gets his clothes off before she’s pulling him inside her, chanting, “Alpha alpha alpha yes there alpha fuck me fuck me yes I need it there--”

He fucks her until she’s speechless, his hips slamming hers into the floor of the loft as her back arches and her cunt squeezes his knot. He tangles one hand in her hair, tugging her head so that her throat is exposed; he bites her gland until she comes, her body wrapped so tightly around his it’s a wonder she doesn’t squeeze the life from him. 

While his knot pulses inside her, he sits up, letting her lean against his shoulder, and reaches for the trout. He hand-feeds her and himself, awed as she obediently opens her mouth for each new bite. No one has ever trusted him so wholly or completely, not even the omegas he commanded in the First Order. She would do anything for him like this...but he’d never ask her. As vulnerable as she is, as desperate as she is, the only thing he wants is to make her happy.

“We could live here,” she says later, when they’re lying in the blankets drifting in and out of sleep.

“Not for long.” He shifts. “These cabins are public and common knowledge; people would find us.” 

“So? We’d tell them it’s our land now and they can fuck off.”

He huffs out a laugh. “I guess we could.”

They  _ could, _ really. People live where and however they want to now; who’s to say a mated pair can’t occupy an open cabin just because that cabin used to be for public use? Hikers and families aren’t exactly coming to the state park for vacations anymore. He and Rey could occupy all of the cabins if they wanted to, or charge wanderers and foraging parties a fee for staying in them. Opportunistic of him, perhaps, but opportunism never hurts when the world is so uncertain.

Realistically, he doesn’t think he’d like to let others in so close to his and Rey’s territory. He’d want to stay somewhere isolated, just the two of them...and their children, if any. 

He knows better than anyone the likelihood of their having a child...but it could happen. They say it’s easier with mated pairs. 

Just the thought of Rey’s belly round with his child makes him half hard; Rey smells his arousal, and a moment later she’s climbing on top of him, jolting him fully awake as she uses the slick from between her legs to work his cock until he’s stiff and panting. Grinning, she takes him fully inside her, making the most  _ delicious _ noises as he fills her up again. He knows the inside of her cunt like the back of his own hand by now, knows just how she likes it and where. He holds her hips, thrusting up into her while she suspends there, helpless and hungry. When he rolls her onto her back she doesn’t protest, wrapping her arms and legs around him and whispering an incoherent string of words. 

_ “You’re mine,” _ he means to say, but somewhere along the way it turns into,  _ “I’m yours.” _

She licks the sweat from his neck. “You’re mine. And I’m yours.”

He comes so hard he sees stars.

.

When he wakes to an empty loft, he panics. 

Has she left him? Did her heat end and now that she’s had what she needs, she decided to fuck off and abandon him? Was he stupid enough to delude himself into thinking she could ever care for--

“Stop worrying, I’m right here.”

He relaxes at her voice, poking his head down the opening. Rey wears a blanket around her otherwise naked body, water bottles and those godawful sustenance bars in her hand. She passes them up to Ben before climbing up the ladder, settling in his lap and ripping into a sustenance bar. 

His heart sinks. If she’s hungry and wrapped in a blanket, that means her heat is near its end. Sure enough, when he buries his nose in her hair, he can smell her heat fading. Today is the last day. 

“Your heat’s almost over,” he says quietly.

“ _ Almost _ ,” she emphasizes, putting aside her snack and turning to straddle his lap. “But not quite.”

Yet even as they make love, he can’t help noticing that there’s less desperation in her movements, that she seems more content than eager. He knows she isn’t going to run away this time, but it still fills him with a sadness he can’t quite hide. 

“What’s wrong?” she asks, touching his face.

“Nothing.” He doesn’t stop, but she stills him, nuzzling his face. 

“Ben. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he says again, but when he drops his head to her shoulder and breathes her in, he knows he can’t hide anything from her. “Your heat is almost over.”

“Why is that...bad?”

“Because...last time, you left.”

She strokes his head, her fingernails a soothing scratch against his scalp. “I didn’t want to. I wanted to be with you, remember?”

“Yes, but…”

“I’m not leaving you this time,” she says firmly.

He sags in relief. Aren’t omegas supposed to be the needy ones? Yet he’s the one who needs to hear that she won’t leave him.

“I meant what I said,” she continues. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be your mate.”

His knot pulses, desperate to fill her. “I want that too.” He rises up on his elbows, kissing her. “But I worry it’s just the heat speaking.”

“You just said it’s almost over,” she points out. “Do I seem like I’m not in my right mind to you?”

“No, but…”

“But what? Do you not want me?”

“Of course I want you,” he growls, nipping her neck. She gasps, her scent heady with desire. He nearly rolls her onto her stomach and mates her then and there. “But mating is...it’s sacred. It’s more meaningful than marriage. I don’t want you to feel...tethered.”

“I do,” she says stubbornly. “I’ve been alone my whole life. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want to belong to you in every possible sense of the word, and you to me. I want us to have a bond that can’t be broken by just...up and leaving in the middle of the night.”

“I’d never,” he murmurs.

“So prove it and mate me.”

He gazes down at her for a long moment...and then pulls out of her long enough to roll her onto her stomach. She lets out a small gasp, hands gripping the blankets as her back instinctively arches. He pushes her hair to one side, revealing the mating gland on her neck. He breathes deeply, making the hairs on her neck stand on end as she shivers. 

“Your gland smells...incredible,” he whispers. 

He knows her heat exists only in the technical sense now, but the pheromones she’s giving off threaten to send him into rut. “Ben,” she whispers back. “Please...I want...I want…”

“Say it,” he urges, running his tongue around her gland.

She shivers again, hips thrusting lightly against air. “I want you to mate me.”

He slides into her at the same moment he lowers his head, sinking his teeth into her gland. She cries out in ecstacy, her whole body trembling as an unexpected climax takes her. His own release follows, his hips slamming hers into the floor as he fucks her and fills her. It’s the most intense orgasm he’s ever had, the greatest high he’s ever known, and for a long moment, he forgets that there is a world outside of Rey.


	16. take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end!! As with most of my fics, this is the last chapter of substantial plot; the next and last chapter will mostly be an epilogue. I'll try to have that up soon <3

He is so.

Fucking.

Perfect.

She just stares at him for what feels like hours, unable to take her eyes from his face. She wants to memorize every inch of him, every mole on his face and hair on his head. It’s alright if she can’t do it now, of course...she has the rest of her life.

_ My mate. _

She can hardly believe that he’s hers, or she his. That they belong to each other. 

She wants to wake him up and ride him silly--not something she’s ever felt like doing after a heat before, but heat with an alpha and a subsequent mating has left her feeling better and more energized than ever. 

But Ben must be exhausted. While she’d slept through the beginning of her heat and had drifted in and out between knottings, he’d only gotten snatches of sleep here and there, dedicated to his role as her alpha and protector. He’d taken such good care of her, and now he deserves a long and uninterrupted sleep. 

Resisting the urge to wake him, she eases out of the blanket nest and climbs down the ladder. The fresh air feels and smells good after days inside the cabin; she allows herself a moment to breathe in, basking in the spring air. 

Slowly, she picks her way to the stream, her bare feet treading on dirt and grass until she reaches the muddy bank. She takes a deep breath before dipping her foot in the water. It’s ice-cold, as expected, but she’s still warm and flushed, so it doesn’t hurt when she steps in fully. She’s taken colder baths, anyway, and with the sun warming her, it actually feels refreshing.

She’s splashed water on most of her body when she sees Ben walk out of the cabin, squinting against the sun. She smiles at him, admiring his naked body as he lopes towards her.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” she explains as he steps in to join her.

“Couldn’t sleep with you gone.”

She grins, wrapping her arms around him. “You’re needy.”

“I know.”

“I like it.”

“I know.”

Her grin widens. She buries her face against his chest, breathing him in. Ben moves her hair to the side of her neck, fingers lightly touching her mating gland. She hisses at the sudden contact.

“Does that hurt?”

“It doesn’t...hurt, really, it’s just...sensitive.”

He drops his hand to her waist, holding her against him. “How long does that last?”

“I don’t know. Probably not long.” She drops her arms, stepping back. “Help me wash my hair?”

He does, holding her in his lap as he palms water into her hair and carefully drags his fingers through it. The movements feel nice, and it gives her time to think. Her mind, as it usually does when she’s spacing out, turns to the radio at the fort. She wonders who will take over now that she’s gone--if anyone will. No one before her had gotten the damn thing to work, and she might’ve gotten it to if she--

She sits up, blinking water out of her eyes.  _ “Fuck.” _

“What is it?” he asks at once, hands stilling.

She turns to look at him, feeling guilty as the realization fully settles. “When I was at the fort...I was working on a radio that would reach a much longer distance than any of the other radios the fort has. Your...mother...asked me to do it. I was making progress, but I abandoned it when I found out you were in trouble. I didn’t think I’d ever go back...but I think I just realized how to make it work.”

He visibly tenses. “So you want to go back.”

“I mean…” She bites her lip. She can already see that he doesn’t like this. “I just don’t know if anyone else will figure it out. No one has yet. And if there are other people out there and we can reach them--”

“ _ We _ ?” His voice is sharp, but she can hear the underlying hurt.

“We, the people here in Alaska.” She reaches for him, pressing her forehead to his. “I’m not abandoning you, Ben. I didn’t like living at the fort, and I don’t want to go back there longer than I have to.”

“You don’t have to go at all.”

“I don’t,” she agrees. “But what if the radio reaches other people? We can’t be the  _ only _ survivors on earth, can we?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because maybe those other survivors are rebuilding our world. The First Order generated its own electricity, right? What if that’s happening on a bigger scale? What if civilization is reforming and we don’t know it because we’re so far removed?”

“So what if it is? Let that be my mother’s problem.”

“ _ Ben. _ ” She takes a deep breath. “It’s not safe here. I know we’d take care of each other, but there’s only two of us, and there are whole packs of people who could hurt us out there. For food or gas or…the hell of it. And it’s not just us; you saw firsthand how unsafe it is out there for unmated omegas. Or…” Her voice catches. “Or what if we have children? Then we’d be just like Poe and Baby and Zorii, always running from a pack that would want to use us.”

His grip on her tightens, a fierce possessiveness taking hold. “I’d never let that happen.”

“I’m sure Poe said the same thing.”

He’s quiet for a long time. Finally, “You promise we won’t stay there longer than we have to?”

“I promise,” she says at once. 

He pauses again. “What if they won’t let me in?”

Now it’s her turn to hold him tighter, fiercely protective of her new mate. “I’ll make them.”

He lets out a small chuckle. “I believe you would.” He relents at last. “Alright. We’ll go.”

She kisses him. “Thank you.”

“We’ll go,” he continues, “but as soon as it’s done, I’m taking you somewhere I can have you all to myself.”

“I expected nothing less.”

.

They leave that day, after they’ve washed the blankets and clothes and filled the tank with gas. Ben wants to drive, which she assumes is his alpha pride. She doesn’t mind; he knows the way, and it gives her time to think, planning out all she needs for this to work. By the time they reach the fort, she’s pretty sure she knows what she needs to do. 

Ben rests a hand on her knee as the fort comes into view, and though she’s sure he means to reassure her, she can tell that he needs reassurance as well.

“Some of them will recognize me,” he says quietly. 

“Some of them will,” she agrees. “But I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He squeezes her knee.

The sentry on duty is Rose, much to Rey’s relief; she’s happy to see the other omega, but obviously taken aback by her new mated status.

“Is everything...okay?” she asks softly, eyes flickering to Ben on the driver’s side.

“I hope so,” Rey admits. “Can you let the general know we’re here? And Han, if he’s around.”

“Yeah...sure,” Rose says dubiously. “Rey, do you need…?”

“I’m fine,” Rey assures her. “I’ll explain it all later. Just get the general and Han for me, will you?”

Rose nods and lets them through. They pull up into the drive; to avoid a scene, Rey directs Ben straight to the car bank. A few people look up, but everyone recognizes the car and Rey, so no one stops them. 

Ben’s hands shake ever so slightly as he parks the car and turns off the ignition. Rey reaches over to twine her fingers with his. “It’s going to be okay,” she says softly. 

“Yeah.” He licks his lips. “Maybe.”

She leans over, nuzzling his neck. “We can leave whenever you want to,” she promises. 

“I want you to make this radio work.”

“Yes, but if--”

He silences her with his lips on hers. “I know. And I’ll tell you if it gets to that.”

When they get out of the car, it’s to see Han and the general coming towards them. They both look hesitant, but it’s nothing compared to the anxiety radiating from Ben. Rey takes his hand, slowly guiding him forward. She doesn’t know what to say...but she doesn’t have to say anything.

“Ben,” General Organa says softly.

He squeezes Rey’s hand. “Mom.” And then he’s letting go of Rey’s hand and coming forward, looking shyer and more uncertain than she’s ever seen him. 

The general-- _ Leia _ \--opens her arms, and Ben falls into them, wrapping his arms around the shorter alpha. Rey bites back a small cry, unexpectedly emotional at the reunion. 

Then Han joins them, and Rey can’t help getting a little teary-eyed at the sight of the family reunited. She tries not to stare, but Leia peers out from the tangle of arms and opens her hand, beckoning to Rey. 

“You’re part of this family, too, now,” she says. 

So Rey joins the hug.

.

Their reunion is sweet but brief; Rey knows that despite the warm reception from his parents, Ben is uncomfortable here, so she gets to work on the radio right away. She locks herself in her workroom, only taking breaks when Ben forces her to. 

“You’d never eat or sleep if I didn’t make you,” he huffs when he bodily carries her to bed. 

“I could finish the radio a lot faster if you didn’t make me eat or sleep,” she points out.

“You’d pass out from exhaustion. Besides,” he adds when she starts to argue, “I don’t like sleeping without you.”

“Well, okay,” she allows. “But only because you’re so needy.”

Sometimes he helps her in the workroom, when he’s had enough of catching up with his parents. He doesn’t want to wander around the fort where anyone could see him and recognize him, and Rey can’t fault him for that. She knows it’s killing him to be here, and that makes her even more determined to finish as quickly as possible.

Baby comes to keep her company sometimes, dutifully handing her tools and using his tiny fingers to reach nooks and crannies she can’t. He catches her up on the gossip around the fort, including the running theory that Rey’s new mate doesn’t actually exist because no one has seen him.

“Good,” she snorts when she hears that. “Let’s keep it that way.”

“Where will you go when this is finished?” he asks. 

“I don’t know. Somewhere quiet.”

“Will you take me with you?”

She sucks in a breath. “That’s...not up to me. You belong with your dad.”

“He’s always gone,” Baby points out sullenly. 

“I know. He does it for you.”

“I just…” Baby’s voice cracks a little. “I miss having a mom.”

“Oh, Baby.” She wraps her arms around him. “You have so many people who love you here.”

“But none of them are my mom.”

And none of them ever will be. Zorii Bliss is likely dead or forcefully part of another pack by now, and the chances of her seeing Baby again are slim to none. Poe loves his son, but he  _ is _ gone all the time, and Baby needs a parent who’s there all the time, not just some of it. 

Maybe packs aren’t such a terrible idea...at least in this regard. She knows that in the old days, everyone looked after the children whether or not they were their parents. It made the pack more of a community. General Organa-- _ Leia, her name is Leia, she’s my mother-in-law now _ \--might have a similar practice in place were Baby not the only child at the fort. 

Not for long, she has to remind herself. One of the women at the fort recently discovered she was pregnant, according to Baby, and if all goes well, there will be another baby. 

“It’s taking time,” Leia had said, “but it’s taking. Some of the newcomers from the east saw toddlers on their way here. Maybe the factors that made reproduction impossible are finally going away.”

“Or maybe we’re just growing resistant to those changes,” Ben had countered. 

Leia had smiled at that. “Maybe. Humans are resilient creatures.”

Rey wonders if she and Ben will ever have children. Nothing took the first time they’d been together, but it doesn’t always take right away. She’s heard, too, that it’s more likely with mated pairs, and she and Ben hadn’t been mated that first time. 

The thought fills her with a longing she didn’t even know was in her. She imagines having dark-haired, brown-eyed children with inquisitive faces and smiles that light up a whole room. She imagines a life with those children and Ben, just their little family tucked away in some quiet, untouchable place.

It’s that thought alone that makes her stay up late one night, fending off Ben’s remonstrances. He must see her determination because he finally backs off, but not before leaving her with snacks and water. They remain untouched as she works through the night.

It’s early dawn when she finally sits back. Her back, neck, and shoulders ache, her eyes are dry, and she can feel a headache coming...but the radio is finished.

All the energy she’d had throughout the night seeps out of her, leaving her exhausted. She forces stiff limbs off her stool and limps to bed, where Ben is still sleeping, the thick curtains blocking out the sun. She climbs into bed beside him, worming her way into his arms.

“Finished?” he asks, but she’s already asleep.

.

That afternoon, they test the radio for the first time. It takes a long time because none of them have ever operated a real radio before, and certainly not a military grade radio, but Leia patiently repeats her name and title and location, ending each time with, “Is anyone out there? I repeat, is anyone out there?”

They’re nearly ready to give up hope when they hear a responding crackle.

“Hello?”

Baby squeezes Rey’s hand, his eyes wide.

“Hello,” Leia says excitedly. “This is General Organa at the New State headquarters in Fairbanks, Alaska. Who are you?”

“This is Zorii Bliss in Dawson City in the Yukon.”

“Mom!” Baby shouts.

“Baby?!”

While mother, father, and son excitedly catch up over the radio, the other officers cheer in celebration and pour cups of beer.

“Dawson City,” Leia says with bright eyes, smiling up at Rey. “That’s nearly four hundred miles from here.”

Four hundred miles. It’s a lot longer than that to the other side of Canada, and even longer to get to the United States, if there’s anything left of them...but it’s a start.

“We’ll need to take this operation further east, see if we can pick up other stations--” Leia begins to babble, but Rey leans into Ben.

“I can leave instructions and a list of all the things you’ll need,” she offers, polite but firm. 

Leia glances between the two of them, a small smile on her face. “I see. Where will you go?”

“I don’t know yet,” Ben admits. “Somewhere...quiet.”

“Quiet sounds nice.” Leia squeezes his hand. “Just don’t be such a stranger.” She moves away to celebrate with the other officers.

“If you wanted to go east,” he starts to say, but Rey shakes her head.

“I want to go somewhere quiet. With you.”

He presses his forehead to hers. “Then let’s go.”


	17. you were raised to leave me bait i always, always take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are - the end! I hope you like <3

As the sun begins its slow descent, Rey walks out to the front porch to watch. 

She’s always liked watching sunsets, and the porch on the cabin they’d built is perfect for it. From here, she can see the pink and blue dappled sky, and in the distance below, pinpricks of light from other houses. 

The return to a civilized world hadn’t been instantaneous, but it had been close. Within months, electricity had been up and running all through the territory. Then came the radio and TV broadcasts; Rey and Ben had gathered with their handful of neighbors at the trading post to watch the first one, where Leia addressed all of North America and announced an end to “the fall.”

“War tore us apart,” she had said, looking into the camera with a frankness that both intimidated Rey and made her like the alpha even more. “But peace will bring us back together.”

There’s always more news whenever Rey stops by the trading post; phone service is expected to be up and running again soon, and the first plane since the war had a successful takeoff and landing. They’re working on an alternative to gasoline, and transportation that won’t use up so many resources. The postal service is running again, and though it’s not always reliable and can take months, Rey enjoys receiving Leia’s missives about all she’s working to do. 

The general--senator again now, and rumored to soon be president--has repeatedly invited them to the States, but they always politely put it off. Maybe when travel is a little more secure, and when she and Ben feel a little more settled. Maybe then they’ll go. 

She receives letters from Baby, too, who lives with his parents in the States now. Zorii had found a safe haven in Dawson City after giving up her son and former mate for dead; after they’d reunited, they’d decided not to separate ever again. So now Baby lives with Zorii, Poe, and Finn and goes to a school with a handful of other children. Rey misses him, but she’s happy that he has his family and friends. 

A bark draws her attention to the yard, where she sees an old woman and her dog crossing through. Ben finally started putting up a fence, but he hasn’t gotten to the front of the house yet, so sometimes wanderers pass too close to the cabin. This woman doesn’t seem like a threat, though; she’s too stooped and slow moving to be a threat, and her dog looks like more of a companion than a protector.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone lived here,” the old woman says, looking surprised. “Who are you?”

“I’m Rey.” 

“Rey who?”

“Solo,” Ben says, appearing at the door at that moment. “We’re the Solos.”

The old woman moves on with her dog, clearly scenting Ben and not wanting to intrude any longer on the alpha’s territory. He comes to stand beside Rey, transferring their daughter into her arms. 

“She’s fussy--I think she wants her mama.”

Rey nuzzles her daughter’s nose, smiling when the baby beams at her. “Were you being fussy? Are you being needy just like your daddy?”

The baby laughs, waving two tiny hands in the air. 

“She has your smile,” Ben notes, sliding an arm around Rey’s shoulders.

“You think?”

“I do.” He kisses the top of Rey’s head as she shifts the baby in her arms. “It lights up the room.”

“Daddy’s being sappy again,” she informs their daughter. “But we still love him, don’t we?”

He nips Rey’s neck--a promise of things to come after they’ve put the baby down.

Smiling, she leans into him, and together, the Solos watch the sun set on another day. 


End file.
